Kingdom Hearts: Twilit Memories
by Keyblade Master of Promise
Summary: Sora and his friends meet the mysterious Terra. A new force of evil has begun to spread and threatens the worlds. How is Terra's past connected to these dark turn of events? Main Pairing: SoraXKairi. Current World: Persia-The Prince of Persia
1. Prologue: The Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, however I think this might be a good idea for KH3, which also isn't mine, but as the story goes on, it'll be my idea, lol.

A/N: Well, this is my crack at a KH3 story, now this is a prologue that kind of goes into the beginning of the battle between Sora and the "Lingering Sentiment" or as other people may know him, the "Enigmatic Soldier", whose name has now been revieled to be Terra. Anyway, this is only the prologue, the real story will follow. Please review and let me know how I did, okay?

Prologue: The Awakening

"_Dark…it's so…dark."_ A faint voice echoed in the shadows, it was a man's voice, a young adult, from what one could tell. _"I…feel, cold. What is this place?"_ He questioned, but received no answer. _"Am I…dead?"_ Once again, he received no response. _"What am I doing here? I can't remember…all I __**do**__ remember is…a desert and…a key…no…a Keyblade. Who had the Keyblade?"_ The voice angrily questioned as he returned to silence, there was no point in questioning if there was no one there to reply. He waited for what seemed to be an eternity, just sitting in silence, waiting in the shadows. Then something strange happened, a light began to shine in the distance, the voice wasn't sure if he had a body, but he tried to make his way towards the light.

He finally made it. At first the light blinded him, likely from being in the shadows for so long, but he finally gained his sight, he was kneeling in the middle of what seemed to be a desert, the very same one he remembered. It was a rough, unforgiving land, the red gritted soil whirled around at the winds will. He noticed he couldn't feel it though, so he gave a look at himself, he was in a suit of armor, with metals of gold and bronze encasing him in a sleek, yet light fitting manner. In the parts of his body that wasn't covered with armor, he had black, skin tight material that appeared to be made of a leathery material. The wind whipped around, revealing to him that he was wearing a black and white cape, the man then realized that he had a helmet on, with wolf ear-like protrusions coming from the top. Finally, he noticed that his hands were resting on top of something, he looked at it and saw that it looked like a large key with a gold key bit and silver hand guard. _"A…Keyblade?"_ At first the mysterious person didn't recognize it, but quickly realized what it was. After a moment or so, he realized that no one was there besides him, so he remained still, there was no point for him to venture, there had to be a reason why he appeared at **this** spot, he figured.

As he sat in silence, memories began to fill his mind. _"My name…is…Terra. I am a warrior of the Keyblade…one of the few. My friends are…a girl named…Aqua, and a younger teen named…Ven."_ He slowly began to put bits and pieces together, remembering that Aqua and Ven were also Keyblade warriors. The mysterious person smiled as he remembered who they were, what they looked like, and all the good times they had spent together. Aqua was a fair-skinned young lady with sky blue hair, and a humorously tomboyish personality. She was always light spirited and had a kind word to say for most people, but she was always ready to be serious too and was no slouch in battle, especially when it came to magic. She often wore a black halter top with a matching, short trimmed (but not too short) skirt. Ven was his closest friend and someone who he had taken under his wing. He was kind of serious-minded, but was always eager to lend a hand. Ven had cowlick-spiky blonde hair and often wore a white jacket with a black undershirt underneath and had khaki pants. They always hung out together and went on missions, which were often a success.

Then his eyes widened as some darker memories flooded his mind, the last mission he had, he was in a battle…with the man who also had a Keyblade. _"That's right…I was looking for him and his…apprentice I think, and then there was something about a large moon in the shape of a heart. Wait a minute…I wasn't alone, Aqua and Ven had come as well…"_ He thought to himself as he began to process his new memories. Then he audibly gasped as he realized what happened that day.

"_**AQUA! VEN! **__It…it can't be…NO!_" He screamed in shock as he remembered something terrible. They had fallen in that fight, to that same man, in this very same desert. The armored man wanted to jump up and begin searching for any sign of his friends, but he couldn't move; his body remained inert, despite him trying with all his might to move. For some reason, that's where the memories stopped though, he couldn't remember what the man looked like, all he remembered was that he had won, and that he felt intense hatred for **whoever** that person was, and prayed that they would never have to meet again, for both their sakes.

_Awaken…_a strange voice whispered in the wind. It sounded like his own, but he didn't speak. A second later, a portal opened and out of it came three beings. One was a duck like creature attired in a blue colored sailor outfit, the other was a tall, clumsly looking being dressed in mismatching clothes, and the third was a human, a young man to be exact…and he seemed awfully familiar.

"_Aqua? Ven?"_ His voice once again came whispering in the wind, he was thinking that question in his mind, but he didn't say it, maybe this place was connected to him, somehow. He then realized that it wasn't Ven, he had super spiky, light brunette hair, and wore a black jacket with a navy shirt underneath. Something about his blue eyes did seem familiar, but he definitely wasn't Ven.

_"No…you're not the one I chose…"_ The wind carried his thoughts again, and the three people before him reacted, they had obviously heard it as clearly as he did. Terra then noticed that the young man had a Keyblade in his hand, it had a silver bit and a yellow hand guard. _"A Keyblade?"_ His thoughts echoed in the wind. _"Is he the one we fought? We were the only Keyblade wielders…right? That's it! I remember now…I have his name…he has to be the one. You will pay…"_ This time the wind didn't carry his thoughts. He stood up, and stared straight at the young Keyblade user, his body was free, and his lips were loosened. _"Xe…han…ort…XEHANORT!!"_ His rediscovered voice quaked as he angrily bellowed the name of the one he hated as he lifted his own Keyblade from its resting place in the soil and assumed his fighting stance that he remembered on pure instinct. The three standing before him just gave a look of shock and confusion as they too assumed their fighting stances.

A/N: Well, is it a good start? I hope so...let me know by reviewing, okay?


	2. Prologue Part 2: Lingering Sentiment

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts in any way, shape, or form, nor do I own the characters, this is just my take on how KHIII might turn out, that's all, lol.

A/N: Alright, this is another Prologue chappy, but that's only because I felt like writing a fight scene, plus I needed to put a little bit of back story before I go into the real story, lol. Sorry about that...any way, I hope you all enjoy and be sure to review:

Prologue Part 2: Lingering Sentiment

_Sora, Donald, and Goofy's POV:_

Our three heroes arrived at Disney Castle to answer a summoning by the Queen, Minnie Mouse. She said that a mysterious portal had appeared in the Hall of the Cornerstone and Merlin recommended that they should be the ones to investigate. "Just a feeling." Was all he said when they inquired as to why not long after the elderly wizard gave a long inspection of the portal in question. They all decided it was pointless to keep on questioning, so they entered the portal.

"So…uh…whaddya thinks on the other end of this portal, fellas?" Goofy asked as they cautiously walked through the warped dimension.

"Who knows? Hopefully nothing dangerous, like a hoard of Heartless." Donald squawked.

"Well, we'd better check, just to be sure…there's gotta be a reason why this portal showed up, especially considering it appeared in the Hall of the Cornerstone…hey, there's the end." Sora notified as they saw a glimmer of light that began to get larger as they approached it. When they finally exited the portal, they noticed that they were in a harsh, red soiled desert. There were plenty of wind-torn rock formations and there was hardly any plant life at all. It was desolate by any and all definitions. Sora then looked to his right, at first he rubbed his eyes to see if it was a mirage, it wasn't. There was a man, fully suited in battle armor and a flowing white and black cape, kneeling not too far away from where they were standing, and his hands were resting on a **Keyblade**. "Hey guys…we're not alone." Sora pointed in the direction of the mysterious person.

"Well, maybe he's friendly." Goofy smiled as he began to move towards the armored figure.

"Goofy, wait! Oh boy…" Donald tried to stop his friend, but then realized that the portal they used to get here closed. Sora and Donald wearily turned their heads towards the figure in the distance, and decided to cautiously follow their clumsy friend. They didn't take two steps before something strange happened.

"_Aqua? Ven?"_ A voice whispered, it sounded like a man's voice, but no one spoke, and they were too far away to hear the man in front of them, weren't they? _"No…you're not the one I chose…"_ The voice came again, only this time it sounded disappointed and angry. Sora, Donald, and Goofy summoned their weapons to defend themselves, just incase. _"A Keyblade?_ This time the voice sounded surprised. The man before them began to stir.

"Xe…han…ort….XEHANORT!!!" The armored figure exclaimed as he lifted his weapon. Sora, Donald, and Goofy just gave a look of surprise as they readied their weapons to defend themselves.

"_So much for being friendly…"_ Sora thought to himself as he waited to see what the mysterious person would do. It didn't take long to find out; the man turned his head towards Goofy, his helmet's visor hiding his eyes. In the next moment the strange warrior swung his Keyblade with intense force, creating an arc of energy that came flying at them. Sora instinctively summoned a Reflega spell, shielding him from the force of the attack by creating a dome of mystical crystals. Donald had done the same, and Goofy pulled his shield up to protect himself, being as he lacked magical skills. Before anyone knew what had happened, the armored man used the dust kicked up from his attack as a screen and agilely jumped behind them, landing right behind Goofy. The Captain of the Guard failed to notice and by the time he did, it was too late. The mysterious Keyblade warrior had turned his Keyblade into a whip-like state and wrapped it around the clumsy fellow's foot.

"Uh-oh…" Goofy muttered before the knight powerfully leaped into the air, bringing Goofy with him. Sora and Donald were shocked at what just happened.

"Let him go!" Sora exclaimed as he began firing several rounds of Blizzaga at his opponent.

"Get back here!" Donald angrily began to fire Thundaga spells as well. A bolt of ice hit the knight, then a lightning strike hit his Keyblade, loosening its grip on Goofy, who began to fall to the ground as a result. He landed on top of Sora and Donald.

"Whoops…sorry fellas." He chuckled.

"Get offa us, he's coming back!" Donald commanded when he saw that their opponent was advancing towards them.

"Guys, I think it's time we pulled out the stops." Sora calmly spoke as he dusted himself off.

"Yeah, I think it's our only shot, Donald…" Goofy nodded his head as he turned to Sora.

"Oh, alright…I see what you mean." The duck wearily eyed their opponent before turning to Sora. The young Keyblade Master, lowered his head, closed his eyes, and stretched his hands towards his friends.

"Give me strength!" He shouted, a second afterward, Donald and Goofy became orbs of white light. The lights flew into Sora's chest, the area where his heart is. In the next second, a wall of white light surrounded the young man, then dissipated, revealing Sora, only this time he was garbed in silver and black clothes that radiated a soft glow, and instead of one Keyblade, the Kingdom Key, he wielded two, the white Keyblade Oathkeeper, and its black twin, Oblivion, and said Keyblades gracefully floated behind his back, being linked to Sora's mind instead of his hands. When the armored figure noticed this, he stopped and stared at Sora, as if he was curious to the sudden change that the young man had taken. "Alright, now we play this game **my **way." Sora grinned as he disappeared, quick as a blur.

The knight just stood still, moved his head as if he were looking around, and finally just rested his weapon at his side. After a few seconds of remaining motionless, the mysterious warrior jumped into the air, his Keyblade once again taking its whip-like state. With a flick of his wrist, the lengthy form of the Keyblade began to twist around his body like a spiraling vortex, on the outside, one could see sparks of metal hitting metal, Sora was trying to break through, but the knight's defense was nearly flawless. Sora reappeared again and gracefully landed on the ground, having given up the initial assault.

"_Oh boy…this is going to be harder than I thought…"_ the teen thought to himself as he looked up at his adversary. His eyes widened in shock as he noticed that the warrior was no longer where he used to be. Before he knew what happened, Sora was knocked over by a fast moving object, as he recovered from being hit, he noticed that it was the armored warrior, only he was riding a motorcycle-like vehicle, only it was his Keyblade, having taken that form. _"Man…why can't my Keyblade do that?"_ Sora jokingly laughed as he stood up and prepared to defend himself. The knight stopped and dismounted his Keyblade, which took in its original form and returned to his right hand. Sora, figuring that this might be a good opportunity as ever to attack, quickly glided towards his opponent and his Keyblades began to take the offensive, gracefully and adeptly striking at the knight, who, much to Sora's surprise, was blocking ever single blow, and didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat. "W-who **are** you?" Sora questioned out loud as he jumped away, being that it was obvious to him that if the stalemate continued, he would wind up on the bad end of conflict.

The knight just stared at him and remained silent, Sora could tell that under his mask, the man was glaring at him, and it sent chills down his spine.

"Okay…don't answer me then." Sora just gave a quizzical look at the silent man. The man continued his silence, glancing towards the sky. In the next second, the silent warrior jumped into the sky, as he did so, he threw his Keyblade into the air and it split, the handle and hand-guard from the key bit itself. The hand-guard twisted and became a shape similar to an "s", and the key bit also took a new form, similar to a crested staff, the two pieces began to orbit the mysterious warrior, spinning faster and faster, generating sparks of energy as a result. Sora was in awe and was amazed at the spectacle, but before he could regain himself, the silent knight became consumed with a powerful energy sphere and then forced himself at Sora, creating a massive explosion that the teen tried to run from, but failed to escape. When the dust settled, Sora was back to his normal self, albeit battered and bruised, and Donald and Goofy were lying unconscious off to the side. The knight was perfectly fine, not even a scratch on him. He coldly stared at his all but defeated opponents, and once again threw his Keyblade into the air, it took a new form, it expanded to a massive size and flipped around to where the hand guard was facing Donald and Goofy, it opened up, revealing a large hole, and the bits stretched to various sizes and pointed in different directions and finally rested on the knights shoulder. The bits began to pulsate in and out of the Keyblade, and Sora noticed that the hole at the end of the weapon was collecting energy.

"_Oh my gosh…it's a **cannon**...he's going to kill them! I'm coming guys!!!" _Sora's mind was struck with the dark realization and he ran with all his might and jumped between Donald and Goofy, and the Knight. "Don't you dare hurt my friends, it's me you want, right!?!" Sora exclaimed as he assumed the crucifix position, arms outstretched defensively. The knights head tilted slightly, as if he was slightly taken aback by the recent turn of events.

The cannon stopped collecting energy, the bits slowed their pulsating until it eventually stopped, then the knight's Keyblade assumed its original form and returned to his right hand.

"_Go…I have naught left…but hatred…" _The wind softly whispered as the mysterious man kneeled back down and reassumed the exact same position that he was in before their fight started. Not long after, a bright flash consumed Sora, Donald, and Goofy. The next thing Sora knew, he was waking his eyes up on the cold, hard floor of the Hall of the Cornerstone, his body showed no signs of the fight he was in.

"_W-was that all a dream…but…it felt so…real."_ The brunette thought to himself as he began to wake Donald and Goofy up.

A/N: Was it a dream, or was it more? It was definitely strange, to be sure, be sure to check the next chapter to find out, lol. Let me know how you felt about this chapter by reviewing, okay?


	3. Chapter 1: Here We Go Again?

A/N: Hello everyone! Yes, it is I, KBMP, updating (I know...I'm really bad for that...). Anyway, I felt the strangest urge to update this story in particular, so I hope you all enjoy it, okay? Be sure to let me know by reviewing, please?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the KH franchise, by the way...

Chapter 1: Here We Go Again?

_Destiny Islands, a week after the defeat of Xemnas:_

Sora, Kairi, and Riku had all returned home, and enjoying some long overdue peace.

"Sora, Riku!" Kairi shouted as she frantically ran down the bridge that led to Sora and Riku's favorite sparring ground. The two Keyblade Masters look at each other in shock when they heard the yelling, then faced Kairi as she ran up to them, winded and out of breath.

"What's up?" Sora asked as he tried to help Kairi stay standing.

"Look…" The auburn haired girl replied as she showed Sora her hand, it was holding a bottle, and inside the bottle was a letter. Upon further inspection, one could notice the royal seal of Mickey Mouse on it.

"From the King?!?" The brunette quickly took the bottle from her hand and pulled out the letter. Riku and Kairi leaned in close to read it as well.

"_Hey guys,_

_Sorry I wasn't able to address you personally, but I had matters that needed my personal attention. You see, three days ago, an old friend of mine just appeared out of nowhere in the Hall of the Cornerstone. That isn't the strange part though, being as people seem to come and go as they please now…what is really puzzling is that he was thought to have been dead for a little over ten years now. When we found him, he was unconscious and lying on the floor, and as of when I wrote this letter, he still hasn't awakened. I would like for you all to come and meet him, if you can. He's someone you should make yourselves familiar with._

_~MM_

_PS-Fold this letter into a paper plane, oh, and mind your heads…_

"What…on earth does that mean?" Riku asked as he curiously looked at the letter.

"Well, it means that we need to go to Disney Castle, duh." Sora laughed.

"I wasn't talking about that, I meant the post script, _duh_!" The silver haired teen scoffed as he pointed to the part of the letter he was referring to.

"Oh…well…I guess it means this…" The spiky-haired boy began to fold the paper up, and after a few seconds it became a paper plane, just as requested.

"Now what?" Kairi inquired as she raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Just after she said that, the paper began to quiver, then it shot out of his hand and took to the sky. A few seconds later, a bright flash appeared in the sky, then a shadow that nearly blocked out the sun, which grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger, until...

"LOOK OUT!" Riku exclaimed as he jumped out of the way, while Sora grabbed Kairi to bring her out of harms way. They just barely managed to avoid the object, but instead of hearing a loud thud, they heard the roar of engines. Riku rolled off of his stomach and faced the object that nearly him, it was a red and yellow ship that appeared to be made of blocks. "What is this thing? Guys, are you alright?" Riku came around the craft to find his friends, they had avoided the "crash", and were lying on the ground, but they were motionless. "Uh…guys?"

"Kairi…I'm sorry…I-I d-did not mean to wind up like **this**…" Sora stammered as his face became red, they were belly to belly, with his face mere inches from hers.

"I-it's quite alright Sora…you were just trying to…save me…" Kairi's face matched her hair in color, needless to say, they were both embarrassed.

"Alright, you two, incase you two haven't noticed, we just about **crushed** by some random space craft!" Riku yelled as he helped Sora and Kairi up. Sora, to ease the tension, turned around to inspect.

"Well I'll be darned, it's a Gummy Ship! It looks exactly like the one me and the guys would use to get from world to world." Sora smiled as he inspected the vessel.

"So…are we supposed to use this to get to Disney Castle then?" The Princess of Heart questioned as she walked up to the ship, to which Sora nodded in response. "Okay, then let's get going then."

"Alright then all aboard!" Sora exclaimed as he opened the door and ushered in his friends. He climbed in and took the controls, pressed a few buttons, and with that, they were on their way to meet their old friends, and hopefully, a new one.

_In a Wasteland on a Distant World:_

The wind was whipping about, the dust was beginning to pick up; a storm was brewing. A bolt of darkness struck the ground, causing it to tremble at its wake. Soon afterwards, a black vortex began to swirl where the bolt hit, growing larger and larger until it reached a massive size, then, slowly shrank back down and taking a different form as it was. It slowly silhouetted into a figure, a figure of a man.

A/N: Well, who is this man that Sora and the others are going to meet? What of this mysterious figure who has made this dramatic entrance? Find out by reading my updates, and let me know how I did by reviewing, alright?

Thanks,

~KBMP


	4. Chapter 2: So We Meet

A/N: Hi, all. KBMP is back :D. I'd like to thank **Lord Moldybutt** for taking their time and reviewing last time, I really appreciate it, and as such, they get an invisible cookie :P. Anyway, moving right along...

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Disney, so there you have it, now please, do enjoy the "show" and be sure to review.

Chapter 2: So We Meet

Sora wasted no time imputing the coordinates to Disney Castle in the computer system of the Gummi Ship, and immediately the ship took of.

"So…who do you think it is the king wants us to see?" Sora questioned as he leaned back in his chair after setting autopilot to take over.

"Not sure, but, whoever he is, he must be important, that's for sure." Riku mused as he too took a reclining position in his chair.

"Well, we're going to find out anyway, so let's not worry about it too much. You two have had a long two years, why don't you just use this time to relax." Kairi interrupted, drawing inquisitive looks from her fellow passengers.

"Hey, you've had it rough too, you know? You lost your heart, were kidnapped **twice**, and to top it all off, you had to just sit and wait while we tried to make our way back home. Honestly, I don't know how you did it, Kairi." Sora commented.

"Well, it was worth it all, if only because I got to see you again…" Kairi gave a faint blush. Riku noticed this, and could tell that she was specifically referring to seeing **Sora** again, which didn't hurt nearly as bad as it might have a year or so ago, being as he had accepted the fact that Sora and Kairi seemed destined for each other. Everyone noticed it, except of course for the two people in question, as he looked at Sora's, he could tell that the spiky brunette's only reaction was that of curiosity, as if he **couldn't** tell that Kairi was mostly concerned about him.

"_As dense as ever, I see…"_ Riku's chuckled in his head; he was glad that they were still their old selves, despite all they had been through. _"I guess it couldn't hurt if I…moved them along." _Riku then sat up and gave a stretch and a yawn, "Well, I don't know about you, but **I'm** exhausted. I guess I'm still not used to being up in the middle of the day, you know, being mostly active in the darkness." It wasn't a good excuse, nor was it…entirely true (sure enough, most of his missions as Xehanort's Heartless did occur at night, but that didn't mean he slept in the day…he wasn't a **vampire**, after all), but Sora and Kairi seemed to buy it all the same. "I'm going to try and take a nap on the way, since we have some time. You two just stay and 'chat'". The silver-haired teen finished, putting a subtle emphasis on the last word as he turned and left the cockpit, "apparently" heading to the sleeping quarters.

There was an awkward silence that fell between the two remaining teens; neither one was sure what to say, exactly. "So…" Sora broke the silence, "how have you been?" _"Doh! Stupid! Stupid!"_ The young Keybearer berated himself, regretting asking one of the most "stupidest" questions, in his opinion.

"Oh, I'm fine, nothing's changed, really." Kairi answered, nervously pulling her hair over her ear. "How about you?"

"Me? Oh, I'm good…" The brunette absentmindedly responded, trying desperately not to embarrass himself.

"Hey, Sora?" Kairi softly asked.

"Yeah?"

"Could you tell me about your adventures…I want to hear about all the different places you visited and all the different friends you made." Her eyes had a gentle glint to him, Sora couldn't resist that look, no matter how hard he tried.

"Oh, sure…where do I begin?" Sora then proceeded to tell her about the puzzling world of Wonderland, about becoming an "honorary Hero" of Olympus Coliseum, being a merman in Atlantica, describing what it was like being a lion cub in the Pridelands, being a pirate with the "infamous" Captain Jack Sparrow and fighting ghost pirates, braving the hot deserts of Agrabah, and much, much more.

"Wow…what a life story…" Kairi was in awe; that was quite the tale indeed.

"Yeah, but that's not the important part…**why **I did it was most important…" Sora thoughtfully added.

"…and why did you do it, Sora?" The Princess of Heart questioned, curious as to what it was that drove the Keyblade Master during his adventure.

"Well…" Sora stammered, his heart debating if he should answer or not, because if he answered honestly, _"What would Kairi think…should I finally tell her? What if we can only be friends?"_ As fortune would have it, the radar began to go off, alerting all those aboard that they were about to reach their destination. _"Phew…"_ Sora thought as he returned to the pilot's seat after silently mouthing "I'll tell you later, promise" to Kairi, who nodded in response as she also went to her seat, and not to long after, Riku reentered the cockpit and nonchalantly taking his seat while not saying a word. After a moment or two, the Gummi ship started to begin its landing procedures, heading towards the Gummi hangar of Disney Castle. Finally, they had arrived.

They all exited the ship, and the first to greet them was the king, Mickey Mouse; the trio bowed (or curtsied, in Kairi's case) as they saw him.

"Hi'ya, fellas. You couldn't have come at a better time, the man I wanted you to meet just woke up about two hours ago. Take it easy when you talk with him, though…he's still a little…grumpy." The mouse gave his trademark chuckle as he began to lead the others through the many corridors of Disney Castle.

"Pardon me, your Highness, but who are we going to see?" Riku asked as they continued walking.

"Whelp, his name is Terra. He's a Keyblade Warrior, just like us…however, as I said in the letter, he was thought to have been dead for ten years now…" Mickey replied, giving a quick glance back to the Twilight Warrior.

"Don't get me wrong, sir, I'm glad your friend **isn't** dead, but isn't it strange that he was thought to be dead for so long, then all of a sudden show up in the Hall of the Cornerstone?" Sora questioned, placing his finger to his lip in puzzlement.

"Yup, it is strange, but I'm glad all the same. Oh, here we are." The king smiled as he opened a door, and they all went inside. "Terra, I'd like you to meet Sora, Kairi, and Riku."

A/N: Well, so they are meeting at last. I know this might be classified as a "filler" chapter, but I hope it was able to whet your appitites until the action roles along. What will happen during this...interresting conversation that is about to take place? Find out next time, and be sure to review.

~KBMP


	5. Chapter 3: Advent Terra

A/N: Whoopie!!! A double update! Sorry, I know this was kind of fast, but I couldn't restist the urge. Anyway, be sure to drop a review before you go, and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything KH, get it? Got it? Good...

Chapter 3: Advent Terra

Sora, Riku, and Kairi walked through the door that Mickey had opened. What they saw was a man who appeared to be in his early to mid twenties with mid-length, brown hair set in layered spikes and blue eyes. The man was dressed in a short-sleeved black shirt with red straps coming across his body, meeting in the form of an "x" just below his chest; connected to flowing tan pants, and to top it all off he was wearing black boots. The man turned to face the guests who had entered the room, which would apparently be his sleeping quarters during his stay at Disney Castle, being as it was set up like a bedroom.

"It's an…honor to meet you all, my name is Terra." He acknowledged the group, but as he spoke, Sora noticed something that looked like a grimace, albeit a fleeting one, come across the slightly older man's face. Sora dismissed the curious behavior after he saw that Terra had offered his hand for a handshake, the brunette teen obliged.

"Same here, my name is Sora, these are my friends, Kairi and Riku. I'm sure you've already met Mickey." Sora smiled as the two warriors finished the introductions, however, after Sora had said Kairi's name, Terra began to act a little odd again.

"Kairi…as in **Princess** Kairi? Oh, your highness, it is indeed a privilege." The man bowed to show respect.

"'Princess'? Oh, that's right, I'm a Princess of Heart…I nearly forgot…" Kairi blushed out of embarrassment; she had been so preoccupied with concern over her friends the past two years, that her title didn't seem all that important.

"Indeed you are, and the Princess of the Kingdom of Radiant Garden, as well." Terra added, standing upright.

"Right…that was my home…" The auburn-haired girl confirmed.

"As for Sora and Riku…the King has told me much about you both…you two have had quite the adventure, especially, you, Keyblade Master Sora." Terra locked eyes with Sora, causing a sense of déjà vu for the young Keybearer.

"Uh…thanks, I guess. It wasn't **that **big of a deal, after all, it's a Keyblade Bearer's job to protect the worlds…wait a minute, why am **I** the Keyblade Master? If anyone should have that title, wouldn't it be the King?" Sora interrupted himself as he realized the name that Terra had addressed him by.

"The level of **skill** does not determine whether one holds the title of Master, what matters is the strength of the heart, and without a doubt, you have the strongest heart of any of us…not only can I tell by what his Highness has told me about you, but I can feel it as well, therefore, you are indeed a Master, Sora." Terra added, nodding his head down as a show of respect. Mickey also nodded, as if to say that even though his heart was pure and he was indeed the more accomplished swordsman, Sora was more qualified of the title than even himself.

"…and as for it being 'a Keyblade Bearer's job to protect the worlds', I only wish that were so, Sora." Mickey spoke up, his high-pitched voice holding a hint of sadness.

"What do you mean? I thought all Keyblade Warriors were good, or at least virtuous in action…" Sora thoughtfully replied.

"Not exactly…you see…there was also another Keyblade Master…but he was by no means 'good' or had 'good' intentions." Terra clenched his fist.

"Who was he?" Kairi was curious, curious enough to enter the conversation.

"Master…Xehanort…" Terra almost spat out the last word, as if the very **name** were a poison to him.

"**XEHANORT?!?!"** Sora and Riku exclaimed in shock. "Do the apprentice of Ansem the Wise?" Riku finished, after removing all negative connections that he had to that name from his mind.

Terra seemed confused, he had heard of Ansem the Wise, but he didn't hear of Xehanort being apprentice to anyone, he was always **Master** Xehanort, so Mickey tried to clear the proverbial fog, "No…there was another Xehanort before him. Initially, he was a good man, and a great asset to the cause of light, however…something happened, and he became…obsessed with the darkness, and eventually he, and his apprentice fell to the temptations of darkness. Terra and his friends, Aqua and Ven went to confront him, but no one has seen or heard from anyone but Terra since then, and that was ten years ago."

"He sounds like a **Xehanort**, alright." Riku snorted in contempt.

"_RRRRGGGG!!!_ Don't you get it, it doesn't **matter** what his name is! If **I'M **back, that means that he could **also **have a chance of coming back too!" Terra bellowed as he slammed his fist on a nearby desk, putting a sizeable crack in the wooden structure's frame. After several seconds of angrily panting, he realized that everyone in the room was either giving him a look of fear or confusion. "I…I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me. It's just, it concerns me greatly knowing that evil monster could be out there destroying worlds again."

"I understand, man. You can't let it consume you though, trust me, if anyone knew how you feel, it's me." Riku calmly replied as he placed a hand on Terra's shoulder.

"Heh, that's right…you've been confronting the darkness on a **different** level too, huh?" The older man turned to face the silver-haired teen.

"_Yeah…you could put it that way."_ Riku thought to himself.

"At any rate, let the story of Master Xehanort be a lesson to all us. It is a great responsibility to be a Keyblade Warrior. The Keyblade will fallow, without hesitation its masters command, so long as their heart is strong enough to command it. If in the hands of the right person, the Keyblade can become the most powerful weapon for the Light, but…as in Xehanort's case, if in the wrong hands, it can become the most destructive, unforgiving force imaginable." Mickey elaborated, causing a solemn nod to come from all those present, especially Sora and Riku.

"Oh, your Highness, your Highness!!!" A frantic voice came echoing through the halls, it sounded choked up, as if someone were speaking from the back of their throat, and that this person was agitated as well, Sora only knew one person to hold this voice.

"Yes, Donald." Mickey sighed as the recognizable court magician came busting through the door, a humanoid creature that bore some semblance of a dog came in soon after, it was Goofy.

"We…got a message from Merlin, he says that they've finally located his home world, but that there's something dark brewing about it. _WACK!! _Sora! It's you!" The duck exclaimed as he gave Sora a hug, Goofy also followed suit.

"Hehe, nice to see you guys too, now what's this about Merlin's home world?" Sora questioned between breaths.

"Oh, Merlin wants us to help him investigate it and see if it's alright, he has the coordinates and everything set out. He'd meet us there he said." Donald replied.

"Whelp, looks like you all are off on another adventure…" Mickey smiled as he gave his trademark chuckle.

A/N: Well, I hoope you all enjoyed it. I know it was another filler, but sometimes they are needed to give some history, or flavor (depends on your perspective) to a story. Anyway, be sure to drop a review to let me know how I did.

Thanks,

~KBMP


	6. Chapter 4: Off To See the Wizard

A/N: Well, here's another update. I know these are coming fast, but I just have an urge to update like crazy, so I'm going to while the fire's still there, lol. Bear with me, alright?

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any related persons, places, things, or ideas, lol.

Chapter 4: Off To See the Wizard

Everyone finished preparation for the trip that was ahead and got some well deserved sleep. The next morning, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Donald, and Goofy loaded up and prepped the Gummi ship for take off. Mickey and Terra walked up to the ship while the group was finishing their final preparations.

"Hey, fellas, I would really appreciate it if Terra could come along with you all." The mouse king kindly spoke.

"Sure, the more the merrier, I'm sure we could use your help, Terra, climb aboard." Sora answered without a second thought.

"Thanks." Terra solemnly replied as he walked up the entry ramp. After a few more minutes, they were finally off, allowing the newly installed coordinates to guide the autopilot to their destination, a world simply known as "England" according to the computer.

"Gwarsh…I wonder what Merlin's home world is like?" Goofy questioned as he tried to start up a conversation.

"Dunno, Goof, I bet it's filled with magic, being as it **is** Merlin's home." Sora replied, a hint of thoughtfulness in his voice.

"What concerns **me** is the 'darkness' that is gathering around it, it also seems to be this Merlin's concern as well." Terra calmly added, reminding the others that they were there to investigate, not for sight-seeing.

"Yeah, that is a concerning thought. I wonder if the Heartless or Nobodies are acting up again." Kairi nodded her head in agreement with Terra.

"'Heartless', 'Nobodies'?" Terra raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Heartless and Nobodies. You know, evil creatures of darkness?" Sora was shocked to see that Terra hadn't heard about their enemies.

"Never heard of them. The enemies I fought bore a different name, the Unversed." Terra stated as a matter of fact.

"What is an 'Unversed'?" Riku asked, he was intrigued, to say the least.

"Beings who don't know what it means to live. Creatures of darkness who behave on instinct alone." The older man explained.

"That sounds…creepy, almost like a Nobody and a Heartless put together. You see, Heartless are creatures whose hearts have been consumed by darkness, and so they lose their body and take on new, sinister forms, while Nobodies have no hearts, but have wills strong enough to allow their physical appearance to remain, and as such they have no known 'existence'." Sora commented.

"I see…" Terra lowered his head in thought.

"_Attention, approaching destination in T minus, five minutes_." The computer notified over the intercom.

"Well, that was fast." Sora laughed as he assumed the controls and began the landing sequence. After a few moments the finally had a visual of their destination, a large, flat (that's right, 'flat') piece of land that had appeared to be an island pulled right of the ocean itself, it was hilly, but it also had vast forests throughout. After finding a suitable place to land, an oppening in the middle of a forest, Sora brought the ship to rest, and they all climbed out.

"I wonder where that old wizard is, he said that he'd meet us when we arrived!" Donald voiced his frustration after looking at his watch. It had been a half-hour since they arrived, and Merlin was nowhere to be seen.

"Relax, Donald, I'm sure he'll be here soon." Riku made an attempt to soothe the Duck's temper, but it only went so far. Just then they heard some rustling in the brushes around them. Everyone, except for Terra and Kairi, drew weapons in response to the noise.

"Now, then, there's no need for that, young ones. It's only us." A shaky, yet light-hearted voice came out of the woods. A few seconds later, an elderly man with a long, white beard, dressed in a blue robe with a matching wizard's hat on walked out from the vegetation. It was Merlin, but behind him can a young man, who appeared to be no older than thirteen or fourteen, blonde, and had a small build, dressed in a simple red and orange tunic. At the boy's waist was a sword, and a beautiful one at that.

"Hi, Merlin, who is your friend?" Sora inquired as he stepped forward to give his former Mentor a handshake.

"This is Arthur, King of England." Merlin beamed with pride as he patted the boy on the back. This caused a look of curiosity and shock to come over many of the group's faces, to see this boy hold the title "King" was somewhat strange to them.

"Y-yes, you see, it's because of this." Arthur added as he drew his sword from his side, the blade seemed to require no effort from the child, despite it **appearing** to be too large for him. "This is Excalibur, the sword of the King of England."

"Oh, well, I'm sure you'll do splendidly as King, Arthur, you don't seem too arrogant, a good leadership quality." Sora smiled as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Quite right, quite right, and **another** quality a leader must have is the ability to protect his people. Isn't that right, lad." Merlin added as he kneeled down to Arthur's level to look him in the eye.

"Right…which is why I humbly approach you, Sora." Arthur showed his humility by bowing like a gentleman (or at least, how he was **told** gentlemen bowed). "I kindly ask that you be my teacher in the art of swordplay."

"W-wait! You want **me** to teach you how to fight, your majesty?" Sora stammered, he couldn't believe his ears. Arthur only nodded in reply.

"Yes, you see, I can only teach the boy about magic, I'm afraid." Merlin commented, clearing his throat as he did so.

"But what about the darkness?" The Keyblade Master questioned.

"I'm performing an investigation, don't worry, it will be dealt with in time. Right now, Sora, it is imperative that this world's leader learn how to defend those under his care, as you do, though not quite on the same level, of course." Merlin replied.

"I see your point, okay. I'll do it, but we will also deal with the darkness while we are here, do you have any lead at all?" The spiky brunette crossed his arms in puzzlement and thought.

"I'm afraid not, the last legitimate threat to this world was an old witch named Madam Mim, who has been inactive for a while since I defeated her a while back. I haven't ruled her out, but she seems unlikely, these happenings appear to be **far** to complex for her to have done, at least on her own." The old wizard shook his head.

The conversation continued for a while, but as it went on, Terra was behaving a little odd, as if he was looking for something in the surrounding woods. He thought he had seen something moving between the trees out of the corner of his eye near the beginning of the conversation between Sora and Merlin, but he wasn't entirely sure. There it was! A shadow between the trees, its silhouette was familiar, cold, and dark. Its human-like figure standing there as if beckoning him to follow, then out of nowhere, it ran off. The older warrior didn't want to cause too much of a stir, just calmly spoke up.

"I'll volunteer to help Merlin with the investigation. I'm a good tracker…so you all can stay and teach Arthur while the wizard and I go see what we can find." With that, he slowly turned around and disappeared into the brush, in the direction of the shadowy figure.

"Oh, well alright, I guess I'd better begin as well." Merlin was nearly caught off guard by the man's actions but decided not to argue. "I leave Arthur in your care." With a puff of blue some, the wizard was gone, leaving the remaining group to look at each other with a most confused look.

A/N: Well, things are starting to get interresting. Sora's going to teach (GASP!!!), but, perhaps more important, who is this shady figure that Terra is currently tracking, and why did he want to go alone? Find out in the next chapter, oh, and please be sure to review :D.


	7. Chapter 5: The Hunter, or Hunted?

A/N: Well, here's another chapter (WHOOPIE!!!). I do hope you enjoy this, because it's a little different than the previous ones. Now be sure to review when you're done, please. Oh, and I would like to thank the last chapters reviewers: **Lord Moldybutt** and **WhatDoYouMeanI'mDrunk**, you both get an invisicookie for your support.

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter 5: The Hunter, or Hunted?

_With Terra:_

Terra was now in a full blown sprint, he had been chasing this shadow for almost an hour now, and he was barely keeping up. Whoever he was chasing had super-human agility, they must have, because they were jumping and dodging trees as if it were mere child's play. The young warrior had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that was begging him not to follow, but he knew he had too, he knew it in his heart. All of a sudden, the dark figure seemed to increase speed, and like a streak of lighting had disappeared through the trees that seemingly gnarled together to create this forest, causing Terra to lose sight of his prey.

"Darn it…" Terra mumbled under his breath, but he didn't give up and continued in the direction the shadow went. To his astonishment, the young warrior realized the forest line stopped as he rushed through the last set of trees, revealing an opening, and in the middle, there was a large, stony building which appeared to have been abandoned, and had been for a long time, judging by the state of the structure. Terra paused for a moment as he surveyed his surroundings. _"I guess there's a good place to look."_ He thought to himself as he proceeded to the building.

_With Sora's group:_

"Well, where shall we begin, Master Sora?" Arthur politely asked, his voice was laced with eagerness.

"Um…well, before I can teach you anything, we need to see how good you naturally are. I guess the point is to see what you already know." Sora nodded his head in a dignified manner, it made him feel more "teacher-like" as he would put it (this caused a giggle to escape from Kairi's lips, and a role of the eyes from Riku and Donald).

"How would we do that, Master?" The boy king inquired.

"Heh, I thought you'd **never **ask." Sora smiled as he stretched out his hand, and with a flash of light, a large, key-shape weapon with a grey shaft and bit and a yellow handle guard appeared in his hand. It was the Keyblade of Light in its purest form, Kingdom Key, to be precise. He assumed his familiar fighting stance, his weapon held with both hands just off his right hip, his torso slightly crouched, and his left leg taking lead position.

"Oh, I see." Arthur nervously answered Sora's challenge by drawing Excalibur, hoisting it above his head in a stance known as "Heaven's Parry". Sora raised an eyebrow, this stance seemed a bit peculiar for Arthur to take, considering the size "mismatch" between the boy and his sword might make him fall over backwards, but then he realized that Excalibur had chosen Arthur, and therefore physical restraints might not be as taxing on the boy, much like him when he used some larger forms of the Keyblade.

_With Terra:_

Terra opened the door and slowly walked in. If who he was chasing was here, he didn't want to alert them to his presence. After taking a few steps in, he began to look around, noticing that there was hardly any roof left as the afternoon sun fell unhindered into the straw floor below. All of a sudden, he felt the air around him chill, as if life itself held its breath. Terra summoned his weapon: a large, dark gold Keyblade whose bit had pieces of various lengths, the very tip having a rounded edge, and its handle guard was bluish silver and shaped somewhat like wings, as if designed for flight.

"Come out and show yourself, coward!" Terra barked as he prepared for the worst.

"_Ah, so good to see you again, Terra."_ A voice replied, it sounded more like a whispering hiss, and the pitch of the words rose and fell in an unnatural manner, sounding as though it were a snake speaking, almost demonic.

"Wait…I know that voice, it can't be!" The brown-haired man nearly gasped in fright.

"_Oh, but it is. I'm so glad you remembered, I was afraid you had nearly forgotten all about us."_ A shadow in the form of a large circle appeared on the floor before Terra's feet. A figure began to rise from what seemed to be the entry way to the Underworld itself, causing Terra to step back in disbelief. The emerging figure had a solid black, dome helmet that concealed his entire head, from the neck down to his shins he was covered in an armor that appeared to be made of muscle tissue which was colored red round his chest and abs, and black everywhere else. His feet were shod in boots made of similar material. By far, the most shocking feature about this warrior was the fact that he too had a Keyblade, only this one appeared to be made of red and white gears, and the hand guard appeared to be made of red bat-like wings with a large eye right where the hand guard met the neck of the blade. It was Xehanort's Apprentice, a warrior whose true name had been forgotten by others, and himself since he fell to darkness.

"How could I forget **you**?!? You and your Master killed my friends!" Terra angrily bellowed as he took a mighty swing with is Keyblade, but his adversary easily blocked it. Terre then proceeded to deliver a string of strikes at his opponent, most of which were heavy blows, keeping Xehanort's Apprentice on the defensive.

"_And we shall end __**your**__ life too, when the time comes."_ The dark warrior seemed to be laughing as he spoke,

"What…do you mean?" Terra grunted as he delivered yet another powerful stroke, but with one, smooth motion, he dodged the strike by jumping over it and performing an aerial somersault to take his back. The brown-haired Keybearer turned around just in the nick of time to roll out of the way of a bolt of Blizzaga that the Apprentice had cast, only to find that his opponent was waiting for him at the other end. Before he could even think, Xehanort's Apprentice had delivered a knee to Terra's gut, causing an agonizing groan to escape is lips as he bent over in pain. The dark warrior then placed his hand on Terra's chest and cast a Firaga spell, blasting the hero through the stone wall behind him

"_Heh, you don't see it, do you? Think hard, what do you remember from our last encounter?"_ The Apprentice hissed as he stepped through the hole that Terra's body had created.

Terra weakly hosted himself to his feet by using his Keyblade as a crutch. "I remember…the Crossroad of the Realms…we fought you and your Master… you had all but destroyed Aqua and Ven…then there was…a heart-shaped moon…Kingdom Hearts…" Terra slowly spoke as his mind slowly recollected the events.

"_But what do you remember what happened __**after**__ that?"_ The Dark Keybearer again appeared to be laughing, as if he were enjoying the torment that Terra was going through in his mind.

_With Sora's Group:_

"With all due respect, Master, we've been practicing for almost a half an hour now, may we take a break?" Arthur sat down wearily to catch a breath.

"Yeah, that's fine. You're learning pretty quickly; you're a natural, your highness." Sora was panting himself. He then turned his glance over to Kairi and Riku, but when he did, he noticed that Riku's eyes were closed, and his face was serious, **deathly** serious. "What's wrong, Riku?"

"Something's very wrong here. I smell something far darker than anything we've ever come across. Sora, we've got to go find Terra, **now**! Hurry, he's this way." Riku ran off towards his right.

"Kairi, Arthur, stay here, Donald and Goofy will keep you safe." Sora commanded as he ran off to follow Riku.

A/N: Bum bum buuuummmm...this isn't good. Will Sora and Riku arrive in time to save Terra from Xehanort's Apprentice? And what is the dark warrior trying to make Terra remember? Find out in the next chapter, oh, and don't forget to review :D.

~KBMP


	8. Chapter 6: The Cavalry Arrives

A/N: Well here's another update :D. I hope you enjoy this, it is going to be pretty much sheer combat (I hardly ever commit a whole chapter to it, but I hope I did well, we'll see). Anyway, be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything KH, or any relation thereof.

Chapter 6: The Cavalry Arrives

_With Terra:_

"_But do you remember what happened __**after**__ that?"_ The Dark Soldier let out a sinister laugh, he appeared to be enjoying every second of Terra's torment.

"I…remember…darkness…utter darkness, and after that, nothing." Terra slowly replied.

"_Ah, now you're beginning to see __**why**__ your efforts to defeat my Master are futile. Darkness waits for us all at the end, but it is especially true for you, Terra. You have escaped its clutches once, but remember, it will find you again, it is…inevitable."_

Terra was speechless, he knew that there was at least some truth to his enemy's words, but surely it wasn't "inevitable", was it?

"Terra! Hold on, we're coming!" A familiar voice yelled out as a Thundaga spell landed just in front of Xehanort's Apprentice, causing him to jump out of the way. It was Sora and Riku, Keyblades drawn and ready to defend their newest friend. "I don't know who you are, but you stay away from Terra!" Sora commanded as he and Riku assumed an offensive posture.

"_Hm…new 'friends', Terra? Heh, I wonder if they'd still be your friends if they truly knew you."_ The Dark warrior mused as he assumed a defensive pose, Keyblade drawn across his chest.

This caused Sora and Riku to look at each other with puzzled looks, but they dismissed it. "Hey, back off." Riku interjected, if anyone knew about coping with dark pasts, it was him.

"_I believe I should be saying that to __**you**__!"_ The mysterious warrior stepped forward, then like a blur, he was gone.

"Guys, look out, he's on the attack!" Terra exclaimed as he stood up and hoisted his Keyblade in front of his body.

"But where…**who** is he?" Sora questioned as he, Riku, and Terra went back to back to form a triangle.

"He's Master Xehanort's Apprentice…and could be anywhere, he moves so fast that it's nearly impossible to track…he keeps moving until you let your guard down, and then he strikes." The older warrior commented as his eyes darted back and forth to try and find any clue to where their enemy was. It was at this point that Sora had noticed Terra's Keyblade.

"_T-that weapon…it can't be, could it?"_ Sora thought to himself as his eyes widened in shock. It was the same Keyblade that the armored figure had used when they had fought.

"Urg…if he were moving just a little slower, I could smell him out, but he's just moving too darn fast!" Riku angrily grit his teeth as he also tried to locate the Apprentice, but all in vain. Then, the three heroes heard what sounded like a twig snapping, Sora and Riku cast a Firaga and Dark Firaga, respectively in the direction of the noise, causing a descent sized explosion.

"Did we get him?" Sora questioned as he tried to find what would hopefully have been charred remains of Xehanort's Apprentice, but he couldn't see anything through the smoke. A second later, a shadow blocked out the sun above them, and they all looked up in shock to see that the Dark Soldier was above them, his Keyblade pointed down as he dove towards them. The three warriors jumped out of the way of their enemy just as he landed on the ground, causing them to scatter. This was exactly what the Dark warrior wanted. The Apprentice used his Keyblade as a pole vault and drove his boot into Riku's abdomen, causing the Silver-haired Keyblader skidding into the ground as he rode him like a surfboard, then he jumped off of Riku's body and landed in front of a charging Terra and blocked a horizontal swipe from the tall man and twisted his Keyblade around Terra's, whipped around his body, and delivered an elbow to the back of the head, causing the tall man to crumple over. Now all that was left was Sora, who looked at his fallen allies in shock, it looked like the Apprentice was just merely **toying** with them.

"_Heh, are you scared, boy? You should be…"_ The Dark Soldier mocked as he saw the very apparent look of fear on the brunette Keybearer's face.

"No, I'm not afraid." Sora put on his brave face as he reassumed his familiar fighting stance.

"_So it would seem."_ His opponent hissed as he raised his Keyblade, then vanished without a trace.

"Not this again…" Sora muttered his breath. _"Wait…I can't __**see**__ him…then perhaps…"_ He closed his eyes, to see if his other senses would allow him to detect his adversary. All of a sudden he felt a rush through his senses, as if everything about his environment became known to him, despite the fact that his eyes were closed. He could **hear** the countless birds chirping around him as if it were a choir in full throat, he could **feel** the moisture-filled air as if his body were consumed by a river, and he could **smell** the tiny clover patch on the other side of the field as though it were a bouquet of them held right below his nose. The fact that this was happening was shocking to the young Keyblade Master, to say the least, but he quickly regained himself and began to use this new found ability to his advantage. There, he could feel it, a dark, menacing chill just to his left, and it was approaching fast. The young Keybearer opened his eyes and quickly moved his Keyblade to his left to have it meet the Apprentice's with an ear-splitting sound of metal on metal.

"_Ksssk…very impressive. I see you are very skilled in the ways of Light. I imagine you too are also a Keyblade Master."_ The evil Keybearer gave out an irritated hiss as he delivered bone-shattering blow to Sora's waiting Keyblade, causing Sora to lose his footing. _"But you are still __**inexperienced!**__" _The Soldier of Shadows then spun his body around, clasped both hands to his weapon, and finished the move with a powerful uppercut from his Keyblade. Sora had blocked the blow, but the force of the strike sent Sora flying into the air. Without missing a beat, the Dark Soldier jumped into the air, performed a pirouette and brought his Keyblade across Sora's back, leaving a large, gruesome cut in its wake. Sora screamed in pain as he came crashing to the ground, followed by the Dark Solder falling knee-first into his chest, causing the screams to stop due to the wind being knocked out of his hapless opponent. _"Now, I'm afraid it's time I finished this…"_ The menacing knight lifted his Keyblade to deliver the final stroke to the now unconscious Keybearer and began to bring it down, but stopped just as it came a mere inch from Sora's neck. The Apprentice then stood up, turned his back to his battered victims and summoned a dark portal, _"It appears as though we will have to postpone this for another time, young Keyblade Master."_ Then without giving a second glance, the Soldier was gone, vanishing through the darkness.

A/N: OH NO! Is everyone alright? Especially Sora...but on the bright side, Sora seems to have picked up a new ability, but will he be able to surive to use it again? What about Kairi, Arthur, and the others? Find out in the next chapter.

~KBMP


	9. Chapter 7: Of Building and Mending

A/N: Phew...another chapter. This one will be more of a wind down chapter (yes...a filler), but it can be very important, if you look closely. Anyway, do enjoy, and be sure to drop a review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: Same as always (unfortunately...because otherwise I would be working on an **actual** KHIII at this point, lol).

Chapter 7: Of Building and Mending

_With Kairi's Group:_

Nearly an hour and a half had passed since Sora and Riku had left to find Terra, so needless to say, she was worried. To make matters worse, she couldn't escape a nagging feeling in her heart that told her something was wrong, **very** wrong.

"Guys, I think we should look for Sora and the others." Kairi's voice was filled with a very serious tone.

"But, lady Kairi, didn't Master Sora say to stay here?" Arthur replied in a polite, yet equally concerned tone.

"Yeah…but…something doesn't feel right. I can feel it here…we've got to see if they're okay." The Princess of heart stated as she placed her hand over her heart. Donald and Goofy just looked at each other and exchanged knowing nods.

"Alright, Kairi, if ya say that we should look for 'em, then let's get goin'." Goofy placed an assuring hand on Kairi's shoulder as the four began to walk in the direction that the Keybearers had ran off in. After an hour of searching in vain through the forest, the young Princess now **knew** something was wrong.

"_Gwwaaakk_, maybe they're in that building over there!" Donald exclaimed as they passed through the tree line, seeing a large stone structure. As they made their approach, Kairi's eyes widened in horror as she saw three figures lying prostrate on the grounds surrounding the structure. Without wasting another second, the auburn-haired girl rushed towards them, tears welling in her eyes.

"_Please no…please no…"_ Kairi frantically thought to herself, much to her dismay, she recognized the warriors. Riku was lying on his back with a bunch of dirt pushed up behind his head, Terra was laying face-first in the ground, and then she saw Sora. He was battered, bruised, and unmoving, and this scared her the most; at least the other two were breathing. She rushed over to him, leaned his limp body up and held it close, she could hear him breathing, they were shallow, but they were there. After the relief of Sora being alive ran its course, she felt a warm sensation on her arms; she pulled one of them back, and was left speechless and nauseated at what she saw: blood…**Sora's** blood.

"Help! Sora's hurt!" Kairi yelled through her shock as she saw Donald and Goofy working on Riku and Terra, who were now beginning to stir thanks to Donald's Curaga. The two vigils of Disney castle rushed over at the Princess's plea.

"WAK! Goofy, get that Elixir out, Kairi, take his shirt off." Donald commanded.

"But, wouldn't using your Curaga be better?" Kairi asked as she performed the task that she was allotted.

"Yeah, but I spent my magic tap healin' Riku and Terra…I won't be able to cast a spell for while, includin' a strong one such as a Cure spell. I could've drank the Elixir to help, but it's our last one, and it would've been a couple o' minutes before it kicked in…and by then… " Donald muttered as he grabbed the flask that Goofy had handed him. "This…is a pretty bad cut, but it didn't get his spine, that's some good news." The magician sighed as he proceeded to pour the elixir over the Keyblade Master's bare back; the wound instantly began to close, causing the bleeding to stop.

"I thought Elixirs were only meant for drinking." Kairi softly spoke as she gently rested Sora's body back on the ground, allowing his head to use her lap for a pillow.

"Kinda, but they can used be on the skin for wounds such as this, it's treats it on the spot, and is much faster." Donald explained as he stood up and walked away, leaving the two teens alone. Kairi took this opportunity to reexamine Sora's body. The first thing she noticed was how relaxed he looked now, nothing at all like a minute ago; the Elixir was indeed some potent stuff. Then she noticed how…fit Sora looked, wielding a Keyblade and being in countless battles over the past two years obviously had it's…benefits for one's form.

After catching where her mind was going, she blushed out of embarrassment and tried to look away, but before her gaze left Sora's body, she noticed a scar on the left side of his chest...it didn't seem fresh (at least when compared to the freshly sealed wound on his back), being as it was sealed, and slighly dark. Its shape was similar to what a keyhole would look like, only it wasn't a smooth shape, it was jagged and rough all around, and it was a little, larger than a keyhole as well. _"Now…when did he get this, I wonder if it was back at…"_ She thought as she ran her hand over the scar.

"Princess, is…is he alright?" A young voice interrupted her thoughts, she glanced back to see that it was Arthur.

"Yes, he'll be fine. Don't worry…but he still needs a better place to rest than the cold ground." Kairi stated as she turned to face the young king.

"Oh, of course…I might be able to help with that. Merlin! Where are you? We need your help!" Arthur yelled into the sky, causing Kairi and their (conscious) friends to nearly fall back at the sudden, and very strange behavior by their friend. However, a few seconds later, there was a strange whistling noise coming from the sky. They all looked up to see what appeared to be a medium-sized blue and white rocket falling straight towards them.

"_Why does this keep happening to me?"_ Kairi sighed as she and Arthur picked up Sora and ran out of the way of the approaching object. A few seconds later, the rocket hit the ground, but instead of a boom, explosion, or anything that **might** be expected from a rocket crashing into the ground, the only result was a blue puff of smoke replacing the rocket just before it hit the ground, followed by the noise of coughing and hacking.

_"(Cough)_Now, what's the (_cough_) matter, Arthur?" A voice from the smoke inquired between smoke-induced hacks. The cloud settled to reveal Merlin, still red in the face from the self inflicted coughing fit.

"We need to get Master Sora, Riku, and Terra back to the castle, Merlin. Can you give us a hand?" Arthur enquired, causing the old wizard to scan the people the young king had mentioned.

"Oh my, but of course your majesty, right away." With that, Merlin rolled up his sleeves, and with a flick of the wrist, they were all back at Castle Avalon, Arthur's home.

_Dark realm:_

The Dark Apprentice stepped through the dark portal and immediately bowed to one knee. Before him was a veil of shadows that made even the dismal place that is the Dark Realm seem...pleasant and bright. The "veil" flowed back and forth as if it were an ocean wave, such as what surrounded them.

"_Master, why didn't you allow me to finish the boy off? Surely you see that he's a threat to…"_ The Apprentice finished mid-sentence as he saw the veil give off an electrical spark that fell just before his feet.

"_I…I understand, my lord. It wasn't his time…forgive my impatience. I will assemble the other villains, as you have commanded, Master Xehanort."_

A/N: Well, our young heroes are going to get a much deserved rest, but it appears as though Terra's worst nightmares have indeed been realized, Master Xehanort has returned (or, at the very least, his essense). And what of Kairi's thoughts on Sora? Find out in the next chapter :D. Oh, and be sure to leave a review.

~KBMP


	10. Chap 8: The Powerful Bonds of the Heart

A/N: Well, here's my next update (whoopie :D). Anyway, this one is more of a story-line type deal, where it sets up some things, explains others, yada yada yada, lol. Anyway, please do enjoy all the same, oh, and be sure to leave a review, too :D.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter 8: The Powerful Bonds of the Heart

_Castle Avalon, the following morning:_

Sora, after a long night's sleep, finally woke up. "Oh…my head…wait! Where am I?" The young Keybearer looked around as he realized that he was in an unfamiliar place.

"Oh relax, Sora. You're in castle Avalon. You had us all very scared, my lad; especially a certain **princess**. Why, it took me nearly all night for me to get her to agree to finally get some sleep." A familiar voice chuckled; he turned to see that it was Merlin, sitting in a comfortable wooden rocking chair, pipe in hand.

"What happened? Why are we here?" Sora inquired as he got up and stretched the knots from his muscles, taking note of a slight "twinge" in his back between his shoulder blades.

"Well, according to your friend Terra, you had a very…nasty encounter with an apprentice of a man named Xehanort, and you appeared to have taken the worst beating of them all, so we brought you here to administer proper care. I see that that Elixir Donald gave you has done the trick, that scar on your back is barely noticeable now." The elderly wizard examined as he caught a glimpse of Sora's back.

"A scar? Sora realized that he was without his favorite shirt and jacket, then turned his back towards a mirror off in the corner to try and look at the wound. It was pretty big, stretching from in between his shoulder blades, going diagonally down all the way to just above where his right kidney would be. His blue eyes winced as his mind recalled **how** he had received the cut. "Yeah…that guy…Xehanort's Apprentice…he's far more powerful than anything we've ever faced before. If he's this strong, one can only imagine how powerful his Master is…" Sora mumbled as he rubbed his forehead in frustration, but then he remembered what had happened to him during the fight. "Hey, Merlin, I think I may have discovered a new ability…"

"A 'new ability', you say? Tell me what happened." Merlin twisted his beard in curiosity.

"Well, during the fight with Xehanort's Apprentice, I tried to find where he was moving…so I closed my eyes. Then all of a sudden, my other senses became so powerful, that I knew almost, if not everything that was around me. I couldn't **see** anything…but I **knew** it was there, but when I opened my eyes, everything went back to normal." Sora explained as he sat back down.

"My goodness, lad! That is a rare talent indeed. Why, I do believe you have a skill known as 'Aura Perception'." The wizard chuckled.

"'Aura Perception?'" Sora raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, it's an ability that allows one to know every little detail about their surroundings, allowing them to take very precise action in response. Only those whose hearts are very pure with Light can tap into it…and rumor has it, that with practice, it can be used even with your eyes opened, allowing you to truly 'understand' everything about where you are." Merlin mused as he put his pipe to his mouth. "Tell me, did you manage to detect your adversary with it?"

"Yes, and he felt like a deathly chill, void of any kind of life." Sora nodded his head.

"I see…you appear to have a very strong depth to this perception. It appears that you associate people with certain sensations while using it, this may even allow you to see intentions, perhaps. At any rate, I recommend you hone your skills in this, Sora. It will serve you well through your journey. Oh, and your clothes have been mended, they're on the table near your bed." With that, Merlin dismissed himself, leaving Sora to think.

"_Hm…I wonder…"_ The brunette Keybearer pondered as he closed his eyes and focused on his other senses in an attempt to repeat what happened last time. Just as before, he felt a rush throughout his senses. Now, he tried to single out the people from the environment. In the hallway, he felt a presence that seemed like a fresh summer rain complimented by what he would feel if he were standing next to a camp fire, smoke and all. _"That must be Merlin…"_ Sora thought as he continued to explore. Next door was a presence that felt like the cool breeze that only comes with an unhindered sunrise, or the dawn _"Riku…"_ He didn't know why, but somehow he just **knew** that was who it was, and a door beyond that, he felt an essence that felt like a torrential downpour of rain, as if it were a storm _"That must be Terra."_ Finally, across the hall, he felt something that reminded him of the times he would just lay down in the warm sand and allow the ocean waves to gently caress his body, there was only one person in the **worlds** he would imagine to feel like that to him. He opened his eyes (his senses once again returned to normal), put on his muscle shirt, left his room and went to the door across the hallway. He knocked on the door, receiving no response.

Sora slowly cracked the door and whispered, "Kairi, are you in here?" He heard soft, rhythmic breathing from the inside, so he opened the door just a little further. It was indeed Kairi, but she was asleep. Her delicate figure was sprawled out over her bed, silken sheets covering all but her head and hands, being as she was hugging her pillow. Not wanting to disturb her sleep, Sora slowly backed out of the doorway, only to be halted by a faint whisper.

"Sora?" Kairi lifted her body up from the bed. The Keyblade Master walked back in as he used a weak Fire spell to light a candle on a desk.

"Yeah, I'm here, Kairi." He examined her now illuminated body, she was wearing a delicately knitted nightgown that appeared to be made of a lush material, but the feature that Sora noticed most were the tear-stains that covered her face. "Are you alright?" He asked as he gently rubbed his hand across Kairi's cheek, her only response was to give him a very tight, relief-laden hug.

"I'm fine, I was just worried sick about you. There was a moment where I thought I…we lost you." Kairi's eyes began to well with tears as she tightened the hug.

"I'm fine, Kairi…I'm so sorry I worried you." Sora tried to soothe the princess as he returned the hug. The two teens let go of each other, their faces giving a very apparent blush.

A few moments of nervous silence passed before Kairi spoke up. "Sora…I have a question."

"Yeah?" The brunette Keybearer turned his head in curiosity.

"Where did you get your scar?" She asked.

"Uh…from my fight with Xehanort's Apprentice." His voice was now laced with a subtle nervousness.

"No…**this** one…" The auburn-haired girl placed her hand over the left side of Sora's chest.

"Oh…well…I got it…back when Radiant Garden was Hallow Bastion. Remember when Riku was being controlled by Xehanort's Heartless?" Sora stammered, Kairi just nodded her head in response.

"Well…he had a dark Keyblade, or an Anti-Keyblade, if you will; being as it **unlocked** peoples hearts, rather than locked them like mine. Your heart was in mine, and the only way to release it was to sacrifice mine. So…I did, and I suppose that's where I got the scar." Sora finished as he placed his hand on top of Kairi's, whose hand was still over his heart.

"You know…you never did tell me why you went through all you did." Kairi's eyes locked with Sora, to Sora they felt like they bore into his heart, but in a good way.

"I did it…for **you**. I…love you, Kairi. That's what kept me going…what **still** keeps me going." Sora spoke with a certainty that shocked even himself, but what he said was true, so he was glad for it. The next thing he knew, Kairi's lips were pressed against his. Once he absorbed the moment though, his body relaxed as he returned the favor. A few seconds later, they broke apart.

"I love you too, Sora. I suppose I always knew, deep down. That may have even been the reason why my heart went to you; actually, I'm sure of it. Here, I want you to take this." Kairi solemnly spoke as she grabbed something from her satchel which was laying off the foot of the bed. She then handed a familiar star-shaped charm to Sora, gently closing his hand over it with her own. "It was with you last time, perhaps it will help you again."

"Yeah…thanks Kairi. To me though, the most important thing I could **ever** have is you. Don't forget that." Sora smiled as he gently kissed Kairi's forehead. "Well, you'd better get dressed; it's almost time for breakfast." Sora laughed as he helped Kairi out of bed, and left so she could change into her clothes for the day while he went and grabbed his "trusty" jacket. _"I need to have a word with Terra soon though…why would he wield the same Keyblade that the armored figure did?"_ Sora thought he slipped on the rest of his clothes.

A/N: Phew...this was by far my longest chapter to date for this story, but I enjoyed writing every word of it, lol (hope you enjoyed reading :D). WHOHOOO! The cat's (FINALLY) out of the bag (if you get my meaning, lol). Hm...the conversation between Sora and Terra should be...interresting to say the least, lol. Oh, and the fact that Sora sees people as "feelings" is someone interesting as well, it might even be important :O. Well, be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think.

~KBMP


	11. Chapter 9: The Root of Vengeance

A/N: Alrighty, here's another chapter. This one will also play the role of a filler (despite there being some slight action at the end). I hope you enjoy though, being as there is some more important stuff in here as well, lol. Be sure to leave a review as well, okay?

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING Kingdom Hearts T-T

Chapter 9: The Root of Vengeance

After breakfast, Sora and the group decided that it was best that they resume Arthur's training, especially since Merlin said that **now** there wasn't even so much as a mere Shadow present in all of England. As Sora and Arthur were walking their way towards the training grounds of the castle, the young Keyblade Master saw Terra leaning on the entryway to a passage just off to the left.

"Arthur, I want you to go outside and warm up. I'll be out in a second." With out questioning, Arthur rushed outside, leaving Sora and Terra alone.

"I imagine you have some questions…" Terra mumbled as Sora approached him.

"Yeah…" The brunette teen nodded.

"Well, let me hear them." The older man uncrossed his arms and stood straight.

"I've seen your Keyblade before…I fought a guy who used it. He was dressed in armor, and was incredibly strong. Look, I'm just going to be blunt, were you that guy?" Sora raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Yes, that was me. I'm sorry about blindly attacking you and your friends that day. I wasn't…myself." Terra sighed as he looked down in shame.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I have to ask though…**why **did you attack us like that?" The brunette Keyblade Master inquired.

"I had mistaken you for Xehanort…Sora, the man you see now is not the Terra from ten years ago. I am so driven by vengeance and hate that it's all I ever imagine now. Urg…I'd **die** from all the hate that's poisoned my veins!" Terra angrily grumbled as he slammed his fist against the wall.

"What did he do…to make you hate him so much?" Sora also looked down as he was beginning to understand **why** Terra felt like a storm to him earlier.

"He **killed** Aqua and Ven…they didn't stand a chance…and all I could do was **watch!**" Terra bellowed as he once again slammed his clenched fist into the wall. "Do you know what that's like…to watch your friends die and not be able to do a thing about it?" The older man's voice had drastically quieted, tears beginning to develop in his eyes, but refusing to fall.

"You're right…I don't know what that's like. I'm not even going to say that I understand how much pain you must be going through…but I will say this: I'm your friend, and I'm sure Kairi, Riku, the King, and even Arthur would say the same." Sora calmly spoke.

"Yeah…but you're not…them…I miss them so much." Terra closes his eyes in a final effort to hold back the tears.

"And I'm not saying we're going to replace them. No one can…they hold a special place in your heart, and it's good that you miss them, it means you have a heart. What I'm **trying** to saying is: we can be there for you too, if you let us." Sora assured as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "And as a friend, I'm going to tell you that trying to get back at him isn't the right choice. Trust me, I've seen that it can do to people…and because of that, I can't help you there." The younger Keybearer explained as his mind recalled people such as Ursula, Jafar, and Oogie-Boogie, to name a few. "However, I'd be more than happy to help bring Xehanort and his Apprentice to justice, and if it comes to the worst, then so be it, but don't worry, justice has a funny way of working out in the end. Put it this way: let justice replace your quest for revenge, you'll find it much easier to meet your goals that way." Sora flashed his trademark smile.

"Thanks, it may not be easy…but I'll try. Heh, I may be **technically** thirty-one, but you hold a wisdom that far exceeds my own. You truly are a Master, Sora." Terra bowed his head in respect as he left to join the others already waiting outside.

"Okay, now to make sure King Arthur is ready." The young Keyblader proceeded to the training grounds himself. There was a ring of people, and in the center was the boy-king himself, Excalibur drawn and ready. Sora just smirked as he walked into the center of the ring himself, summoning his Keyblade (which had now taken on the white, feathery form of Oathkeeper). "So, are you ready for another lesson, your highness?" The Keyblade Master smiled as he assumed his fighting stance.

"But of course, Master." Arthur returned the smile as he assumed his familiar stance as well. The young king was the first to move. He ran at his teacher, Excalibur dragging against the ground, then he lifted his sword and performed a sweeping strike at Sora's feet, but the Keybearer just back-flipped out of the way and used his momentum to spring back towards Arthur and brought the shaft of his Keyblade against the young king's sword arm. The boy took the blow, causing a gasp to come from the audience, but Arthur recovered quickly and defended himself by blocking a horizontal slash from Sora, as a result, their weapons were now locked. In terms of strength and skill, Sora was quite apparently Arthur's superior, but by no means did this mean that the boy would give in. With a great deal of grunting and groaning (being as Sora had nearly brought him to his knees), Arthur straightened his body, slid out of the lock, and swung his sword to see if he could catch his Master, but Sora parried by bashing his handle-guard against Excalibur, causing the young king to fall on his back, his dislodged weapon falling a few feet behind his head. Arthur looked up to see the Oathkeeper pointed at his neck, and Sora glaring down at him with a very serious expression in his eyes, as if they were trying to bore into Arthur's very own. A second later, his Master's expression changed from that of a stony glare, to that of a satisfied smile.

"Very good, your highness…you have shown me that you have the courage to fight, even though you are clearly outmatched by your opponent." Sora dismissed his Keyblade and stretched his hand out to help Arthur up.

"I beg your pardon, Master but…what do you mean?" The blond king inquired as he dusted himself off and sheathed Excalibur.

"Courage is something that cannot be taught to you. It **has** **got** to come from here…" Sora explained as he pointed to his heart. "You see, your swordsmanship can always improve with practice, but if you don't have the **courage** to fight, what good is your sword? Now I **know** you'll be a great king, Arthur. I can't teach you anything else...I am not your Master anymore, your highness." The Keyblade Master smiled as raised Arthur's sword hand in triumph, prompting a chant of "Long live King Arthur" to explode from the crowd around them.

"T-thank you Master…I mean, Sora." Arthur smiled as Merlin approached the duo.

"Well, with that done, I suppose you'll be on your way to try and discover the whereabouts of your mysterious opponent?" The elderly wizard questioned as he cleaned his glasses with his beard.

"Yes, we can't stand by while someone like that is roaming the worlds. We'll leave tomorrow." Sora sternly replied.

A/N: Phew...Sora and Terra have gotten past their previous encounters, but will Terra manage to let go of his hate? Oh, and now that Arthur has been taken care of, where to next for our group of hereos (and heroine, lol)? Find out in the next chapter, oh, and be sure to leave a review :D.


	12. Chapter 10: Gatherding Darkness

A/N: This is a **true** filler chapter (at least by my standards), but it'll give you some...background details and reveal a few of the players. Oh well, hope you enjoy, lol. Be sure to leave a review before you go :D.

Disclaimer: Same as always...

Chapter 10: Gathering Darkness

_The Dark Realm:_

All is quiet in this dismal place, save for the dark veil flowing ominously near the shorelines of the Dark Ocean. A few seconds later, the sound of a gentle breeze breaks the silence, and then a dark portal opens not too far away from the Veil. Out steps Xehanort's Apprentice, followed by seven other people. In response to this entourage, the veil takes on a new form: that of a man, but made entirely of shadows, save for his eyes, which were glowing red.

These eyes glared at the group: first was a young man with long, red hair that flowed upward, dressed in black spandex and a line-mask covering his eyes, sporting a white "S" across his torso, this was Syndrome, a would-be hero turned villain due to bitterness in his heart. Then there was a man who appeared to be at the very **least** in his mid-fifties (but by no means was he "unfit", bald, skin darkened to a bronze tan, garbed in black and crimson garments, a scimitar at his side, this was Nizam of Persia, a man whose heart has been darkened by jealousy. Next to him was a lady who had flowing blonde hair, her skin was deathly pale (even this did not detract from her beauty), dressed in a flowing white gown, and a scepter of ice in her hand, she was Jadis the White Witch, "Queen" of Narnia, whose cold heart desired absolute power. Following her was a humanoid-like being who appeared to be half man, half octopus, being as his beard was composed of tentacles, his left hand was a large crab claw, and his right hand also appeared to be mostly tentacles; this was Davy Jones, captain of the _Flying Dutchman_, bane of the Caribbean, rumor had it he was without a heart. Lastly, there was a being who appeared to be a man dressed in a red robe, but his body appeared to be nothing but bone, his eyes glowed a similar shade of red as the shadowy form before him, but his most noticeable feature were the gnarled horns protruding from his head, hence his title, "The Horned King", ruler of Annuvin, a region of a world called Prydain; his heart was all but nonexistent, being as he had surrendered it to the darkness long ago.

The Dark Solder once again bowed to one knee as he addressed the figure, _"Master, I have brought you those you have requested."_

"Yes, that's all well and good, but **why** are we here?" Jadis crossed her arms, her voice revealed that she was more than "irritated". This outburst drew what would seem to be an angry glare from the Apprentice, who immediately summoned his Keyblade and aimed it towards the Witch's throat, causing the other villains to put their hands to their weapons (save the Horned King, whose hands sparked with electricity), but not draw them.

"_Kssk…I'll warn you only once! You take that tone with my Master again, and even your __**magic**__ won't save you."_ The Apprentice hissed, but backed down as the shadowy figure waved his hand as a sign of ease. Jadis just shook her head in disgust. All of a sudden, the villains heard a voice in their heads, looking at one another to see if the other were hearing it as well.

"Welcome to the dark realm. I have summoned you here for one purpose: to spread the darkness across the worlds. Each one of you has a unique talent that, if we work together, could allow us to achieve this end." The voice stated, everyone assumed that it was the shadowy figure before them, the Dark Soldier's "Master".

"Look, I don't know who you are, but what makes you think that any of us want to help **you**?" Syndrome laughed.

"I understand your misgivings, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Xehanort, Master of the Keyblade, one of the few to achieve that title. I ask for you to help me, because if you **do**, you will be able to achieve your hearts desire. For instance, Syndrome, you seek revenge. If you join me, you can accomplish that and more. This goes for all of you. Will you answer my call?" The shadowy form of Xehanort stretched his hand out as a sign of beckoning.

"…Alright, I'm in. I like your style…Xehanort, was it?" The red-headed villain smirked as he crossed his arms in satisfaction.

"You say you are "one of the few" Masters of a Keyblade…explain." Nizam raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, a Keyblade is one of the most powerful weapons imaginable; it allows one access to the hearts of other beings. I am a Master, because my heart is strong enough to command it to perform anything I wish. I said I was one of the few…because there is one other, and he serves as our only threat." Master Xehanort elaborated.

"And who might this nave be?" Davy Jones muttered.

"His name is Sora. Warrior of Light, and a Keyblade Master…he is but a mere boy, but he is by no means a novice. Have any of you heard of Organization XIII?" Xehanort questioned.

"Yes…that gaggle of heartless beings who tried to become whole. What of them?" The White Witch cocked her head in curiosity.

"That group fell by that boy's hand…or perhaps more appropriately, his heart." The shadowy man explained; which caused a gasp to come from Jadis.

"And how do you expect us to defeat the person who felled the infamous Organization XIII?" The White Witch questioned.

"_By yourselves, you cannot, but if you work together, we can surely defeat him. Syndrome has agreed to my Master's cause, what say the rest of you?" _Xehanort's Apprentice filled in. The remaining villains looked at each other, each casting their own sinister grins.

"Alright, we agree to aid you in your conquest. What do you expect of us, Master Xehanort?" The sinisterly voice of the Horned King represented the group of villains.

"You will return to your home worlds, but you will have the support of my minions of the dark: the Heartless." The voice assured as Portals of Darkness appeared behind the villains that would them to their respective worlds.

_With Sora and the Gang:_

True to his word, Sora and the others were ready to go come dawn. After saying their good-byes and best wishes to everyone, they boarded their Gummi ship and were off.

"So, where do we go from here? We don't have the **slightest **clue as to where Xehanort's Apprentice is, much less his Master." Riku questioned as he looked towards the map of the Worlds.

"Hm…I wonder…" Sora placed his finger to his mouth in thought.

"What is it? Do you have an idea?" Kairi asked, curious as to what would make Sora puzzled.

"Everyone, I need you to be as quiet as possible…" The brunette Keybearer closed his eyes as he tried to summon the familiar rush of his senses. Being as everyone remained quiet as requested, Sora was able to move past them, a few seconds later, he was even able to focus beyond the warmth and hum of the Gummi engine. There it was! He felt a wave of lifeless chill off to his right; that **had** to be where Xehanort's Apprentice went! As soon as he sensed it his head was overcome with terrible pain. The Keyblade Master groaned in pain as he opened his eyes in shock as he grabbed his head; he nearly fell down, but Kairi caught him before he landed, it took everything he had to fight back the waves of nausea washing around in his stomach because of the headache.

"Sora, are you alright? What happened?" Kairi's voice was filled with concern as she helped Sora stand back up.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine…I just…have a headache. We need to head that way." Sora shook the cobwebs from his head as he pointed off to his right.

"How do ya know that?" Donald grunted.

"I just…know. I have what's known as 'Aura Perception'…it allows me to…feel things, I guess." Sora sighed, wondering why this time was different than the last times he had used Aura Perception.

"I'm not even gonna ask…" Donald shook his head as he changed the ships course to the direction Sora had pointed to.

A/N: Uh-oh...now we know the face of the enemy, and what they **intend** to do...but how will they go about it? Why did this latest use of Aura Perception give Sora a headache? More will be revealed in later chapters, so read on as updates come :D. Please remember to review as well, lol.

~KBMP


	13. Chapter 11: The Name is Mr Incredible

A/N: Well, here's another chapter :D. This is an introduction to a new world, so read on to find out what it is, lol. Be sure to leave a review when you're done.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything related, affiliated, ect.

Chapter 11: The Name is Mister Incredible

_Sora's Gang:_

After flying off towards the direction that Sora "felt" the presence of Xehanort's Apprentice, the group came across a world that appeared to be made of mostly a large city, with a small island off to the eastern half of the world.

"Is this the place, Sora?" Goofy scratched his head. In response Sora hesitantly closed his eyes, praying that he wouldn't have a repeat experience of last time. Fortunately, all that happened this time was a slight tingling sensation in his head, but more importantly, he felt the familiar "chill" of darkness emanating from the little island on the planet.

"Yeah…that's the one alright. It's a world named Metroville, according to the computer. Let's land on the island…" Sora confirmed as he looked at the Gummi's data screen.

"Hm…something doesn't seem right. This is almost too easy." Terra crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat.

"I wouldn't worry about that, nothing **ever**seems to come easy for us." Riku smirked as the Gummi ship began landing procedures as it approached the island. All of a sudden, the radar began to alarm, alerting them to four incoming projectiles.

"You **had**to open your big mouth, huh, Riku?!? Strap yourselves in, guys!" Sora exclaimed as he took the ship off autopilot. Immediately he barrel rolled out of the way of the lead missile and shot it down as it zoomed passed the ship. After that, Sora went ski-ward again, rotated the cannon to the ship's six and shot down two more, however the explosion provided a shield for the remaining missile. "Oh shoot!" Soramuttered as he drove the ship's nose downward towards the ocean below, then he pulled the controls nearly to his neck, causing the ship to right itself parallel with the water, fortunately the missile was not quite as agile as the Gummi ship and exploded as it crashed into the water.

"Phew…is everyone alright?" Soraleaned back in his chair with a heave of exhaustion. He looked around at his fellow passengers, most of which were clinging for dear life to their chairs. "Hey, don't worry about it. We should be able to avoid any more missiles if we stay close to the water…their radar won't pick us up…I think." Sora nervously laughed as they continued towards the island. Sure enough, no more missiles were fired at them, and they landed on the island without problem. The group all left the Gummi ship and saw that the island was lush with all kinds of tropical plant life and animals.

"Wow, this is so beautiful." Kairi admired as she stepped a little closer to Sora.

"Yeah, but remember that whoever **lives** on this island just attacked us, so don't let the beauty distract you, we are very much still in danger." Terra commented as he pointed to the smoke trails that went from where the missiles struck and followed it to a tall volcano near the center of the island. A few seconds later, the tranquility of the island was disrupted by the sounds of violent splashing coming from the river that was flowing behind the group. Everyone rushed to see what was causing the noise, they were shocked to find that it was a man, a rather buff man dressed in red and black spandex, and he was thrashing in the water in an effort to reach shore, which he did, but that didn't stop the group from running to check on the panting man before them.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sora exclaimed, only to be met by the mysterious fellow quickly standing up, uprooting a nearby tree as if it were a tiny plant, and hoisting it over his shoulder as if it were a baseball bat.

"Don't come any further unless you want a one-way ticket across the ocean!" The man exclaimed between breaths, obviously still winded from his swim.

"Hey, relax, we're just here to see if ya' were alright…" Goofy raised his hands as a sign of peace.

"Wait a minute…you're not robots; or those weird creatures. You're not with Syndrome, are you?" The red-clad man lowered the tree, realizing that the group before him wasn't a threat.

"Syndrome? Never heard of him…so no, I guess we're not." Sora smiled as he saw that this wouldn't escalate into a fight. "I'm Sora, by the way. These are my friends: Kairi, Riku, Terra, Donald, and this is Goofy."

"My name is Mr. Incredible, I'm a…super hero, so I can't really tell you my **real** name." The man laughed as he shook everyone's hand.

"You said something about 'strange creatures', what do they look like?" Riku questioned.

"I've never seen anything like 'em. They're tiny little creatures that seem to be made out of shadows, but those aren't the problem, being as I can handle them easily enough with a good punch. It's the big ones with a huge belly that I can't seem to do anything to." Mr. Incredible rubbed his chin in thought.

"Heartless!" The group exclaimed in unison.

"Uh…care to fill me in?" The superhero inquired.

"You see, Heartless are those whose hearts havebeen consumed by darkness, and as such they crave and seek out other hearts to devour. They're really dangerous." Sora explained, causing a wide-eyed expression to come over the line-masked face of the big man.

"So **that's** what Syndrome's up to." Mr. Incredible's expression was that of realization.

"Gwarsh, who's uh…Syndyme?" Goofy scratched his head in confusion.

"His name is…**was** Buddy Pine, he was a crazed fan of mine, when he was a boy." The superhero's face drew into a light frown.

"So…why is he controllin' Heartless…is he a…villain?" Donald slowly spoke, being as he was unaware of the situation, and didn't want to "step on toes".

"Yes…and all because I shunned him. He **wanted **to be my sidekick once, but I didn't let him…I just saw him as a nuisance, an annoying little kid. I didn't want to deal with the responsibility if something **bad **happened to him." The balding blonde man lowered his head in shame. "But now he **is** my responsibility. We have to stop him before he hurts someone else." His voice was now resolute in tone.

"We'll help you anyway we can. I don't know about Syndrome, but Heartless are bad news no matter how you slice it." Sora stood next to Mr. Incredible, his face equally serious.

"Normally...I would say 'I work alone'...but I regret the last time I said that. You can help me...but...how do you plan to do that? None of you seem to have **superpowers**?" The red-clad hero laughed.

"With **this**…a weapon that can destroy the Heartless…and it can bash around some other stuff too." Sora laughed stretched out his hand, summoning the Oathkeeper, Riku and Terra followed suit, displaying their Keyblades as well.

"What about them?" Mr. Incredible pointed towards Kairi, Donald, and Goofy.

"Donald and Goofy can fight, but we'll need to find a place for Kairi to hide." The brunette Keybearer crossed his arms in thought.

"Well, I **did**find a cave just west of here the other day. Perhaps those three could hide there, that way the little miss has some protection. Riku and Terra can work on destroying the roaming Heartless and guard robots…" The superhero looked up in thought.

"What about me?" Sora inquired.

"You…you'll be coming with me. We'll be infiltrating Syndrome's base." Mr. Incredible smiled as he thumbed towards the volcano behind him.

A/N: Well, everyone has their objectives, but will they succeed? Will Syndrome be stopped, or more importantly, will Master **Xehanort** be stopped? All of these answers will come in the forms of updates, so be sure to stay current and read up, lol. Be sure to leave a review before you go.

Thanks, as always,

~KBMP


	14. Chapter 12: Unexpected Visitors

A/N: Well, I know this is two days "late". Let's just say I was kind of busy these past few days, lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, being as this is the longest chapter I've written to date for this story. Be sure to leave a review before you go, lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything KH, Disney, ect.

Chapter 12: Unexpected Visitors

After Mr. Incredible showed the group to the cave he had found, everyone split up, Riku and Terra went off to patrol the island for wandering Heartless, guards, robots, and things of that nature, while Sora and Mr. Incredible made their way towards Syndrome's volcanic headquarters, leaving Kairi, Donald, and Goofy in said cave.

"Doh…this is gonna be so boring!" Donald huffed as he angrily sat down near the mouth of the cave.

"Gwarsh, Donald, what makes ya' say that?" Goofy asked as he playfully kicked a rock.

"Everyone else is out gettin' all the fun, while we're stuck here doing nothin'…" Donald mumbled.

"Hey now, I say our job's pretty important, Donald. We have to protect Kairi here." Goofy smiled as Kairi took the cue and flashed her "puppy-dog eyes".

"Doh…fine. I'll stop whinin'…" The magical duck gave a dejected look, he was beat.

_With Sora and Mr. Incredible:_

Sora and Mr. Incredible waited until nightfall before they moved on the base, being as they could use the cover of night to their advantage. Mr. Incredible led the way, being as he was familiar with the island. Eventually, they came to a cliff.

"Uh…how are we going to get to Syndrome's base from here?" Sora was puzzled.

"Look down…" The super hero pointed down the cliff's edge. The brunette Keybearer looked to where his friend pointed and saw what appeared to be railroad tracks; his eyes followed the tracks and saw that it led to the volcano: Syndrome's HQ.

"Oh, I see it now." Sora's face was that of eureka. "But…how are we going to get down there? It's a very big drop…"

"Just follow my lead." Mr. Incredible smirked as he jumped off the ledge and used the jungle trees below to land on. Sora mirrored the smirk as he jumped off as well, using Glide to guide his body to the trees. After adeptly diving and bobbing through the jungle tops, the duo finally reached the railway and stopped. "Now, we wait…" Mr. Incredible whispered. Sure enough, about a minute later, a small, circular, white rail car came rolling down the tracks, it had two men in it; Syndrome's armed guard, by the looks of things. Mr. Incredible held up three fingers and began to count down. Once all the fingers fell, he and Sora jumped onto the roof of the car, causing an indentation.

"What the…whoa!" One of the hapless guards screamed as the large, strong hand of Mr. Incredible reached in and pulled him out, only to be followed by the screams of the other guard as Sora swung off the roof to plant his shoes into his face, causing him to fall into the nearby ocean below. Mr. Incredible climbed in, took the driver's seat, he realized the dent they made a few seconds ago made it cramped, so he gave the roof a quick punch to straighten it out.

"Well, now what?" Sora crossed his arms in satisfaction.

"We just ride this until…uh-oh…more guards. Quick, jump out!" Mr. Incredible commanded, and Sora did so after he saw that the gate ahead was indeed guarded. After Sora recovered from jumping from the train, he looked up to see that his partner had ripped all but the bottom of the car from the rail as he jumped off. A second later, he hurled it towards the gate as if it were a football. The metal object crushed the guards and knocked down the gate, making it safe for them to enter. "Come on, let's hurry."

They rushed through the gate and followed the tracks until they came to the foot of the volcano. There they found another group of guards on patrol of what Sora guessed to be one of the entrances to the base. "Great…this is going to be tough." Mr. Incredible mumbled as he wiped the sweat from his brow. It wasn't easy running in the tropic climate, even at night.

"Don't worry, I've got it." Sora summoned his Keyblade and pointed it towards the larger group of guards and cast a Magnera spell. All of a sudden, the nearby guards were sucked in and began to scream in sock as they were being spun around in the air by the spell, then the Keyblade Master cast a Blizzaga, freezing the poor guards, and most importantly, silencing them. "Uh oh…I missed one." Sora whispered under his breath as he saw the lone guard patrolling the upper deck. Fortunately, said guard did not notice what was going on, being as he was on the far side of the building during the event.

"I've got this one, kid." Mr. Incredible chuckled as he picked up a decent sized rock and chucked it at the guard's head, causing the minion to limply fall to the ground below.

"Nice." Sora smiled as they walked through the garage entrance. Sora followed the larger man through the many corridors and hallways.

"I wonder why Syndrome only has humans guarding his base. You'd figure there'd be those Heartless things too…" The red-clad hero inquired as they ran through the base, trying to remain undetected.

"Well, perhaps he knows what Heartless do…and he doesn't want to lose his heart." Sora thoughtfully replied; it seemed logical enough. A few seconds later, they came upon a set of stone double doors.

"This is it…it has to be." Mr. Incredible slowly opened the doors and after Sora walked in, he went through and closed them back.

"Whoa…" Sora's mouth went agape as he noticed what appeared to be a waterfall, but made of hot, molten lava instead, it was truly a marvelous site.

"We need to go **through** the lava, Sora." Mr. Incredible resolutely spoke as he picked up a giant, stone tiki head and hoisted it long-ways to give both heroes room to fit under it.

"That might be just crazy enough to work…" Sora nervously laughed as he climbed under the stone statue. Just as they were about to plunge into the lava, the liquid, hot substance began to split in half as if it were a curtain being drawn back.

"Oh shoot…hide…" Mr. Incredible whispered as he quietly set the giant head back where it was, and the two heroes hid behind the head from whoever might be walking through. They both leaned just far enough to see who it was, being as they were greeted not with the thumping of heavy boots like the guards wore, but the clacking of high heels. What they saw was a tall, slender woman with platinum blonde hair dressed in a business dress and looking through some paperwork. Fortunately, she was too distracted by said filings that she failed to notice the two other people in the room as she walked off. Just as she left, the "curtain" of lava began to close back up. "Come on! We gotta hurry!" Mr. Incredible ran into the now thinning opening, Sora following suit. A couple of harrowing seconds of flat out sprinting, the duo jumped through the end of the lava just before it closed. What they initially saw was darkness, but a few seconds later, some lights came on, revealing a catwalk that led to what appeared to be a computer.

"Is that what we're here for?" Sora inquired.

"Yeah…with that, we can find out **exactly **what he's up to." Mr. Incredible surmised as he walked up and took the lone chair at the computer; Sora stood behind him. After he sat down, the entire wall ahead of them became white with a lone word coming across it: PASSWORD. Mr. Incredible looked down in thought; then began to type: KRONOS. The computer accepted the pass code and up came a menu.

"How did you know that was the password?" Sora inquired, it seemed like a really odd word to him.

"A…friend told it to me…" The large superhero's voice was solemn as he scrolled to the part of the menu that said "Omnidroid". In response, the computer put up two pictures: one was obviously a superhero, judging by his attire, and he was named Universal Man. Next to him was what appeared to be a diagram of what appeared to be a tank with large claws: Omnidroid #1. Then the word "TERMINATED" appeared over the picture of Universal Man, then the computer replaced his picture with another superhero, this time the Omnidroid was "DESTROYED", only to be replaced by Omnidroid #2, which looked like a smoother version of the previous one, the new hero was "TERMINATED". The list went in quick succession, as more and more supers were "TERMINATED" by the Omnidroid, and every time the Omnidroid fell, it was replaced by a new and improved model, which would then proceed to eliminated the next hero or heroine, sometimes two or three in a row. Mr. Incredible just lowered his head in sadness after a hero named "Gazerbeam" crossed the screen and was "TERMINATED".

"He…is he really killing superheroes?" Sora was barely able to speak, the realization made him sick to his stomach. Mr. Incredible didn't even reply, instead he typed in the search bar "Elastagirl", which prompted the computer to bring up a profile on said heroine, what made the man sigh in relief was the fact that it said her location was "UKNOWN". Then he typed in "Frozone", once again, bringing up a profile, only this hero's location was "KNOWN". Finally, he typed "Mr. Incredible", his profile came up, only to have the word "TERMINATED" flash across his picture. The man just leaned back in his chair in exhaustion. "Are you alright?" Sora questioned, he was worried about his friend's well being.

"Yeah…yeah…hold the phone…" Mr. Incredible saw a new command, KRONOS. He clicked it, and the computer proceeded to show what appeared to be the newest model of Omnidroid, and several tiny, black spheres being loaded on to a jet, flown across the ocean to the city of Metroville, and unleashed to destroy it.

"We've got to stop him. He's going to destroy Metroville." Sora placed his hand over his mouth in shock.

"C'mon, let's go." The superhero stood up and began to walk back down the catwalk, when all of a sudden, the "i" insignia on his chest began to beep. A second later, all of the lights came on.

"INTRUDER ALERT!" The PA system began to echo as several cannons burst out of the walls and began to fire; instead of bullets, however, they were firing a black, sticky substance at the duo. Once they realized what it was, they began to sprint towards the lone exit out of the room, all the while taking shots from the goop. All their efforts were in vain, and they fell to the ground as they were overwhelmed by the sticky substance. The last thing Sora remembered was the platinum blonde woman they saw earlier approaching them as he passed out.

A/N: Oh boy...what mess has our hero gotten himself into now? A sticky one, that's what, lol (bad pun, I know :D). Will they be able to pull through? Find out in the next chapter. Oh, and be sure to leave a review, please.

~KBMP


	15. Chapter 13: Syndrome Affect

A/N: Hello again, I'm back. Sorry about the delay for this update, but it's been a hard week...my family and I had to put our dog, Juliet down Monday (she was a beautiful Great Dane that we've had for 13 wonderful years). Oh well, I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit sad, kind of my mood right now, you know? I hope it's good all the same though, so please do leave a review and let me know.

Disclaimer: I don't own KH, Disney, Pixar, or anything of the sort.

Chapter 13: Syndrome Affect

_With Sora and Mr. Incredible:_

After blacking out, all Sora remembered was the familiar darkness of dreamless sleep. He woke with a start by the sound of a pressurized door opening. The young Keybearer fought through his headache to focus on who walked through the door: it was a somewhat tall, redheaded man dressed in black spandex, sporting a white "S" across his chest that matched his white gloves and cape.

"_This must be Syndrome…"_ Sora thought to himself as he was finally aware of his situation, he was bound in electro-static suspension cuffs, dangling in the air because the device clasped his feet and legs. What this strangely dressed man said next confirmed Sora's suspicions.

"You sir, truly **are** 'Mr. Incredible'! You know, I was right to idolize you. I always knew you were tough…but trick my probe by hiding behind the bones of another **super?!?** Oh man! I'm still geekin' out about it…" Syndrome excitedly danced around the room, but his excited expression was washed away by the look of anger. "And then you had to go and just…ruin the **ride**. I mean, Mr. Incredible calling for help '_oh help me! Help me!_ Lame-lame-lame-lame-lame-**LAME!!!** Alright who did you contact?!?" The red-headed man ranted as he pointed an accusing finger at the superhero.

"'Contact?' What are you talking about?" Mr. Incredible's shocked face showed that he was more than confused.

"So, you must be Sora. The 'legendary' Keyblade Master everyone's been talking about. Was it **you** who sent out the distress signal?" Syndrome's voice had a hint of what would appear to be hopefulness, but Sora also gave him a confused expression. This definitely did not satisfy the villain, who pointed at a nearby guard manning a control panel. In response, the guard twisted a knob, causing high-voltage electricity to flow through the cuffs, shocking both of the heroes, and causing their bodies to writhe in pain.

"I'm referring to last night at 2307 hours while you were snooping around. You sent out a homing signal." Syndrome added as he called off the torture.

"He…he must be talking about…when your insignia started beeping…" Sora wheezed between breaths.

"I…I didn't know…about the homing device." Mr. Incredible weakly replied, this only made the red-headed villain angrier, meriting another course of electricity for the heroes.

"Now a government **plane** is requesting permission to land here! Who did you contact?" The would-be hero was making it very clear that his patience was wearing thin.

"I didn't send for a plane." The red clad hero adamantly responded.

"Play the transmission…" Syndrome sighed in irritation as he pointed to a familiar platinum blonde woman, who pressed a button in reply.

"_India golf niner-niner checking in. VFR on top. Over._" The sound of a woman's voice cracked over the radio.

"Helen!" Mr. Incredible gasped, causing the caped villain to stop in his tracks.

"Oh, so you **do** know these people? Well then, I'll just send 'em a little greeting." The villain smirked as he pressed a nearby red button. A few seconds later, the radio cracked to life again.

"_India golf niner-niner transmitting in the blind guard. Disengage, repeat disengage!"_ A few seconds of silence passed.

"_Oh no…he must have launched missiles! I've got to do something…but I can't summon my Keyblade like this. Or can I?"_ Sora thought in his mind as he grit his teeth in frustration.

"_Disengage! Repeat, disengage! Friendlies…"_ The voice cracked again.

"No! Call off the missiles. I'll do anything!" Mr. Incredible's voice was frantic.

"Too late! Fifteen **years** too late." Syndrome gave a sinister smirk.

"_Mayday, mayday! India Golf niner-niner is buddy-spiked!  
Abort! Abort! There are children aboard, say again, there are children aboard!"_ The voice was even more imploring.

"NO!" The superhero gave a heartfelt plea.

"ENOUGH!" Sora screamed as he summoned his Keyblade, cracking his restraints in the response. Sora looked at his weapon, glad his plan had worked, but quickly regained his purpose and assumed his fighting stance. All of the guards in the room aimed their guns and pulled the trigger, only to be met by a Reflega spell, which bounced all the bullets back, eliminated most of the guards as a result.

"Hm…impressive. Maybe there is **some** reason as to why Xehanort's concerned about you, after all." Syndrome smiled as he pointed a single finger at Sora.

"Look out!" Mr. Incredible yelled, but it was too late, the villain had already caught Sora in his zero-point energy beam, freezing the Keybearer in his tracks.

"Heh, you're making this too easy!" Syndrome laughed as he threw Sora against the wall. Sora picked himself up, only to be met by another blast of the sinister beam and be thrown across the room. "See, you may have **mystical** powers, but you're no match for my genius!" Syndrome laughed as he walked over to where Sora fell. When he walked up, he saw that the young Keyblade Master wasn't laying there. The villain began to slowly look around. Just then, Sora jumped down from the ceiling above and bashed Syndrome with his Keyblade, sending the villain tumbling off to his right, but before Sora could continue his assault, Syndrome had recovered and froze Sora again with his zero-point energy. "Not bad, not bad at all." Syndrome flung his victim's body against the ceiling and walls a few times, then threw him back towards the restraining system. Sora was still conscious, but he could barely move due to the battered shape of his body.

"We have a confirmed hit…target destroyed." The familiar lady solemnly spoke. Mr. Incredible just lowered his head in silence at those words.

"Ah, you'll get over it. I seem to recall you prefer to 'work alone'." Syndrome loosed a sick, twisted laugh as he began to walk away. He failed to realize that Mr. Incredible had now begun to exert all of his strength as he leaned forward towards Syndrome. Sora could tell he only had one goal in mind by the look in his eyes: the hero was after blood, Syndrome's blood. However, before the titanic hero could reach his target, the slender woman jumped in and pushed the villain from Mr. Incredible's grasp, she was caught instead.

Mr. Incredible just improvised, "Release me…NOW!"

"Or what?" Syndrome chuckled.

"I'll crush her." Mr. Incredible didn't skip a beat, causing Sora's eyes to widen in shock and horror.

"That sounds a little **dark** for you. Well, go ahead." Syndrome just flicked his wrist as a sign of his 'uncaring'.

Sora groaned as he tried to right himself and intervene, but to no avail, _"Ugh…must be a broken rib…ouch…and a collarbone too...I can't even lift my arm to Cura like this!"_ Sora angrily as he continued to watch the conversation unfold.

"It'll be easy…like breaking a tooth pick." Mr. Incredible spoke through his teeth, squeezing the woman to demonstrate.

"Heh…show me." Syndrome glared at the hero, every fiber of the man's being dared the hero to go through with the threat. The two men just continued to glare at each other, but finally, Mr. Incredible's face soften as he let the woman go, he was defeated. "I knew you couldn't do it. Even when you have nothing to **lose**…you're weak, and I've outgrown you." Syndrome's voice had finality to it as he turned his back to the now weeping superhero and stormed off, the platinum-haired woman close behind. "Restrain the _Keyblade Master_, this time use the 'special' restraints." He finished as he turned the corner. Two guards picked up the boy and held him still as a third guard came and placed over his hands what looked like black handcuffs, only they had an eerie red glow to them, and had what Sora recognized to be the Heartless crest. Afterwards, he was set back in the holding device, once again suspended by electrical currents.

After the guards left, Sora turned to the still sobbing Mr. Incredible, "Are you alright?"

"That…was my **family** on the plane, Sora. He just killed my family!" The broken hero let out a scream of anguish at the last word.

A/N: *sniff* So sad...will Sora and Mr. I be able to escape Syndrome's grasp? What of the others? Find out on the next chapter. Be sure to leave a review before you go :D.


	16. Chapter 14: Incoming Drama

A/N: Hey, I'm back, lol. Sorry about the late update, just needed to get my imagination juices flowing before I wrote (my flaw, I suppose, lol). Anyway, this is a really short chapter, but I hope you enjoy it all the same.

Disclamer: I don't own anything KH, plain and simple.

Chapter 14: Incoming Drama

_With Riku and Terra:_

After being assigned to patrol the island for Heartless and Syndrome's guards, Riku and Terra left to begin their patrol. It didn't take long before they encountered their targets.

"So, we've been at this for hours, how long do you think it'll take Sora and Mr. Incredible to get to Syndrome?" Riku questioned as he drove his Keyblade, the Way to the Dawn into the head of a Shadow.

"Your guess is as good as mine. They can take as long as they want though; fighting these Heartless is kind of enjoyable." Terra smiled as he slashed a Large Body in half. They continued taking down Heartless and Syndrome's lackeys until about sundown; when something caught their attention: a pair of missiles being launched from the volcano towards the east.

"That can't be good." Riku muttered as he and Terra ran towards the coast to see what would cause the missiles to fly into action. As they made their way through the jungle, they heard a large explosion. Whatever the missiles had been sent to destroy, they must have done their job. This caused the two warriors to quicken their pace. It was near nightfall by the time they reached the shoreline, and they were astonished at what they saw, three people, a woman, a teenage girl, and a boy, dressed similarly to how Mr. Incredible was, but they were surrounded by Shadow Heartless, which were eager to devour their obviously very exhausted prey before them.

"C'mon we've got to help them!" Terra exclaimed as he and Riku rushed to where the group was. Riku was the first to attack, casting a Dark Firaga volley at three Shadows as they jumped towards the people, then Terra came in and threw his Keyblade at the Heartless like a boomerang, eliminating the rest. Afterwards, they went to examine the "new arrivals".

"Are you alright?" Terra questioned as he dismissed his weapon and helped the woman of the group to her feet, Riku helped the other two, carrying the boy, who was all but passed out at this point.

"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks for your help. I'm not sure if we could've survived a fight after that swim…my name is Elastagirl, but I **suppose** you could call me Mrs. Incredible. These are my kids, Dash and Violet. What were those things that just tried to attack us?" The super heroine tiredly questioned as she greeted her rescuers.

"Those were Heartless, dark, terriblel creatures who eat people's hearts. Was that you that got hit by those missiles? Wait**...Mrs**. Incredible, you wouldn't happen to be married to Mr. Incredible?" Terra raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he picked up an exhausted Dash and placed him on his back, being as the boy appeared too tired to walk.

"Yes...we're married, **I **came here to see what **Mr.** Incredible was up to, they snuck onto my plane, and so they're here to…being as we had to jump the plane before the missiles hit." Mrs. Incredible elaborated, obviously irritated with her husband and children.

"So, do you have super powers like Mr. Incredible?" Riku spoke up.

"Sure do, Mom can stretch and stuff, Vi can turn invisible and create force fields, and I can run really, really fast…if I weren't so **tired**…is there a place we can rest?" Dash moaned over Terra's shoulder.

"Yeah, there's a cave this way; we've got some more friends there too. So, why are you looking for your husband? If you don't mind me asking…" Terra questioned as he began to walk towards the cave that Kairi and the others were.

"Well, let's just say he'd better **be** in trouble…or he's **going** to be." The red-clad woman frowned, ceasing any further questions. Luckily for the group, the cave was not as far away from the coast as Riku and Terra were when they heard the explosion, so it only took about an hour and a half of hiking to reach it, Riku and Terra explaining the situation as they walked, causing Mrs. Incredible to not be so upset, but now she was more concerned than anything. After they arrived and introductions were made, Riku spoke up.

"So, have you heard anything from Sora or Mr. Incredible? They've been gone for nearly a day now." He questioned as he used Dark Firaga to light a fire for the cave.

"No, we haven't heard a thing…I'm getting worried, you would think they would have been able to get out by now. Launching those missiles at the very least means that they haven't caught Syndrome…at the worst…" Kairi sighed as she buried her face in her knees.

"I'm worried, too. It's not like Bo…Mr. Incredible to take so long. I'm going to go look for him." Mrs. Incredible stood up as she handed eye-line masks to her children. "Put these on, they'll protect your identity. I want you to listen to me, these villains…they're not like the ones you watch on TV, they won't show restraint because you're children, they will **kill** you if they get the chance…do **not **give them that chance. I love you." She stood up and began to leave the cave.

"I'm coming with you." Riku walked up behind her. "You're going to need backup to get into Syndrome's base. Terra, Donald, and Goofy will be more than enough protection for Kairi and the kids." He finished as he placed an assuring hand on the obviously worried woman's shoulder.

"Fine…Dash, Violet, stay here with the others, Mr. Terra is in charge, otherwise Dash, listen to Violet." Mrs. Incredible sighed.

"WHAT?!?" Dash exclaimed, obviously aggrivated at the thought of having to do what his **sister **said.

"You heard her…" Violet rubbed it in, relishing her younger sibling's anquish at the thought.

"C'mon, let's get going." Riku calmly spoke as he and Mrs. Incredible ran off into the night towards the volcano.

A/N: Que the cavalr musicy, lol. Hopefully Riku and Elastagirl will be able to save their friends, well, we'll have to find out, won't we? lol.


	17. Chap 15: Stretching Through the Shadows

A/N: Whoopie! Here's another update, lol. This one's a little longer than the last one, so I hope you enjoy, :D. Please be sure to leave a review before you go, thanks :).

Disclaimer: I don't own KH, Disney, Pixar, ect.

Chapter 15: Stretching Through the Shadows

_With Kairi's Group:_

After Mrs. Incredible and Riku left the cave, Violet went to sit next to Kairi, who was now huddled up near the fire.

"So…this Sora guy, you like him, don't you?" The young heroine inquired as she pushed a few strands of hair away from her face.

"Yeah…we're kind of dating, if you call risking our lives to save worlds dating." Kairi smiled as she faced her new friend.

"Hm…that's kind of how my parents are. I don't know I could do that though, you see, there's this boy that I like at school…Tony, but he's not a super, so at first I was afraid that he'd think I'm weird...but now I'm not too worried about that, I just don't know if I could handle being in a relationship with someone who isn't…like me, someone who can't fight like I can." Violet sighed.

"Well, it's glad you've moved past your fear of being rejected, but as for worrying about your being able to help people in a way he can't…I suppose I would be in Tony's position. Sora's a hero, but he knows that no matter what, I'll always be there to support him between now, and should time allow, when he hangs up his mantle of Keyblade Master, which, knowing him, won't be any time soon. That's really all he wants too, to know I'll always be there for him." Kairi leaned back in thought. "Grant it, life is nowhere near normal for us, but I understand Sora and what he does, and I know that he loves me…and that's all I need." She laughed as she finished.

"Yeah…I suppose I could be happy with that, I just don't know if I should talk to him though, what if it doesn't wind up like you and Sora?" Violet rubbed her head in confusion, which prompted Kairi to rest her hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"Don't worry, just follow your heart and see where it takes you." Kairi assured.

"Well, listening to all this girl talk is fun in all, but I'm going to go take a look around." Dash yawned as he lit a stick for a torch and began to walk deep into the cave.

"Don't you get it? This is serious: mom and dad's **lives** could be at stake…or worse, their **marriage**." The dark-haired girl whispered to emphasize the point.

"So…the bad guys are trying to wreck mom and dad's marriage?" Dash mockingly questioned, which prompted a nervous nod from his sister. "Okay…well, I'm off." He added as he went to his "tour" of the cave.

"Dash!" Violet muttered as she stood to follow him, but Terra stood up and spoke.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't get into trouble, this is probably him trying to cope with this stress." Terra assured as he followed Dash.

_With Riku and Mrs. Incredible:_

The new duo of infiltrators had successfully gotten inside by hitching ride on a rail car and using the tram system that ran through the mountain chain; once inside, they were astonished by what they saw, a large, black sphere, along with several Heartless, being loaded onto a rocket.

"I wonder what that's for." Riku questioned as they quickly passed it.

"I'm not sure…but it doesn't look good at all." Elastagirl's voice showed obvious concern.

"_Testing thrusters…now."_ A voice announced over the intercom, and a second later, the rocket's engines roared to life, expelling fire it their wake.

_With Terra and Dash:_

"Hey, Dash…why did you walk off on your sister like that?" Terra calmly questioned as he walked behind the boy.

"Because she's a know-it-all, and tries to boss me around all the time." Dash muttered as he continued to walk deeper into the cave.

"Well, perhaps she's just looking out for you…she's only trying to do what's best for you." The older man gave a slight smirk.

"Yeah, well, who asked her, anyway?" The blonde boy turned his head in defiance, but his attitude was washed away by what seemed to be the rocks that formed the cave stopped, but the cave itself continued on, only now it was made of metal. "This is…cool!" Dash excitedly spoke as he approached where the two "halves" met. Terra, however, did not say anything, instead a tight frown formed across his face as he noticed burn marks lining the tunnel walls. Just then, there was a gust of hot air, and Terra's eyes tensed as he saw a familiar orange glow building in the distance.

"RUN!" Terra exclaimed as he grabbed Dash and ran back towards the entrance of the tunnel.

_With Kairi and Violet's group:_

Kairi, Violet, Donald, and Goofy had been talking to pass the time while Terra and Dash explored the cave, although as time went by, Goofy noticed that Kairi seemed a bit down, almost like she was back on England.

"Gwarsh, Kairi…is somethin' buggin' ya?" Goofy spoke up, obviously concerned about his friend.

"Yeah…I have that feeling again in my heart…like Sora's in trouble again. It's been there since this afternoon." Kairi sighed as she nervously folded her hands.

"Don't worry, if Sora **is** in trouble, Riku'll be able to help 'em, Mrs. Incredible too." Donald assured.

"I hope you're right." The auburn-haired princess just stared into the fire.

"_Wow…she must __**really**__ care for Sora if she can tell when he's in trouble…I wonder if dad is too."_ Violet thought to herself as she nervously played with her dark hair. Her thoughts were interrupted by the frantic screaming of Dash and Terra as they ran up to the group.

"We've got to get out **now!** No time to explain." Terra commanded as he ran past them, without a second hesitation, everyone else followed, being as they saw the cause of Terra's obvious distress: a massive wall of fire barreling through the cave. Everyone escaped just in the nick of time as the fire exploded through the mouth of the tunnel.

"What now?" Violet questioned, panting for air.

"We can't go back in there, that's for sure…we'll just have to make due in the jungle. We'll stay close, so the others don't have to come searching for us when they come back." Terra explained as he sat down in exhaustion.

_With Riku and Mrs. Incredible:_

After navigating through the hallways and shadows of the base, Riku and Mrs. Incredible finally reached their first destination: the security room, albeit the air vent in the ceiling of said room.

"So…what's next?" Riku whispered so as not to alert the guards below.

"Just hang tight…" The red-headed heroine softly replied as she used her elasticity to stretch her neck to an incredible length as she silently lowered her head to get a better view of the monitors. As she quickly scanned the screens, she saw that one room had two restraining units, one of which was being put under immeasurable stress. "Bob." Was all the elastic woman muttered before she pulled her head back to her body above. "They're in B-8, let's go." She whispered as she led the way.

_With Sora and Mr. Incredible:_

Sora's body was now all but numb. He had been hanging from his arms with a broken rib and collar bone for nearly four hours now, and on top of that the "special" restraints that he was in was emitting some kind of dark energy that was slowly draining his energy, but he was much too concerned with how his new friend was doing to be worried about that. Before he could open his mouth to ask how Mr. Incredible was doing, he heard the metal doors open, revealing the tall, platinum-blonde woman, Mirage as the guards referred to her, walk in and approach the restrain's control panels. She pressed a red button, which cut off the electric currents that held them aloft, causing the two heroes to come crashing to the ground, which caused Sora to groan in pain as the fall had jarred his broken body more than he would like. It was then Mirage approached him.

"Is there any way I can help you, Sora? You look pretty hurt…" The slender woman unlocked the "Heartless" cuffs; she sounded genuinely concerned, which shocked the Keyblade Master.

"Y-yeah…just help me lift my arm up." Sora summoned Oathkeeper as he held his breath in anticipation for the pain that was to come. Mirage nodded in understanding as she gently (as far as that goes) lifted the young man's arm up, pointing the Keyblade upward. "Heal!" Sora commanded, summoning a bell-shaped, pink flower to appear over his head, mending his broken bones and alleviate most of the pain, sure he was still sore, but he could walk now, and fight, should he need to. As he was swinging his Keyblade around to loosen his body, he noticed the woman walk over to Mr. Incredible.

A/N: Awww...Kairi and Violet have some "girl talk", lol, on to more serious matters: Mirage is a good guy (girl, I'm sorry, lol). Will Riku and Mrs. Incredible be able to find them all the same? What of Terra, Kairi, and the others? What are the full extent of Syndrome's plans for the Heartless? Find out as I update, lol. Don't forget to review as well.

Thanks, KBMP


	18. Chapter 16: Catch of the Day

A/N: Well, here's another update :D. Thanks to all who have been reviewing, I really appreciate it. Anyway, please read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: Same as always...

Chapter 16: Catch of the Day

_With Sora and Mr. Incredible:_

After Mirage helped Sora, she went to check on Mr. Incredible, who had not said a word since being loosed from his restraints.

"Hurry, there's not much time…ugh!" The platinum blonde woman gasped in shock as Mr. Incredible's strong hand came up and gripped her throat.

"No, there isn't. In fact, there's no time at all." The hulky hero spoke with a tone as cold as death, causing Sora to draw is attention to the two adults, ready to intervene if necessary. "How can you **possibly** bring me any lower? What **more** can you take away from me?" He added, angrily gritting his teeth.

"You…family…survived…" Mirage managed to rasp between words, causing Mr. Incredible to loosen his grip, and Sora to ease his weapon. "They're here…on the island." She finished as the super hero dropped her, gasping as breath returned to her lungs.

"They're alive?" A smile of joy crossed the normally stoic hero's face as he picked up Mirage and hugged her in thanks for telling him the good news.

"Bob?" A feminine voice came from the background, alarming Mr. Incredible, Mirage, and Sora. They looked at the entryway and saw a woman dressed in a similar outfit to Mr. Incredible and right behind her was Riku.

"Helen?" The red-clad hero gasped in shock as he released Mirage.

"Hello, you must be Mrs. Incredib…" Mirage tried to introduce herself, but before she could finish, she was met by a swift, stretching punch from "Mrs." Incredible.

"She was trying to save me." Mr. Incredible explained as he grabbed her still outstretched arm and began to drag her close to him.

"No, that's what **I** was doing. Let go of me you lousy, unfaithful creep…" The woman muttered as she drew closer, only to be met by a kiss from Mr. Incredible.

"How can I betray the perfect woman?" He smiled.

"Oh, so you're referring to **me** now?" Mrs. Incredible's voice had an indignant tone to it.

"Hey, anyone care to explain what's going on?" Sora inquired, obviously confused.

"This is my wife, Sora. She's always been there for me, even through my thick-headedness." Mr. Incredible smile grew even bigger, causing Mrs. Incredible to seem a little more relaxed, but his smile quickly melted into a frown. "Where are the kids?" Just then the alarm system of the base began to go off.

"They might have triggered the alarm." Mirage spoke as she picked herself up from the punch.

"What?!" Mrs. Incredible exclaimed.

"The guards have been sent to the jungle, you'd better get going!" Mirage commanded.

"Now our kids are in danger?" The elastic heroine shook her head in disgust as she ran off.

"Well, if you suspected danger, why'd you bring them?" Mr. Incredible angrily questioned as he ran after her.

"I didn't **bring** 'em, they stowed away! And I don't think you're striking the proper tone here!" Helen complained.

"Kairi…come on, let's go, Riku." Sora commanded as he and his friend ran after the heroes.

_With Terra, Kairi, and the others, a few minutes earlier:_

The group spent the night outside after finding a secluded area to rest, being as it was unsafe to return to the cave. Everyone was startled by a mechanical voice.

"_Voice identification, please_." A parrot-like bird requested as it looked down at the group.

"Voice identification?" Violet questioned as she raised an eyebrow.

"_Voice key incorrect…voice key incorrect."_ The bird twitched its head.

"Not good…" Terra muttered as he summoned his Keyblade, just then, the bird began to give off a loud alarm to alert everyone of the intruders. "Run!" Terra commanded as he shot a magic bullet to destroy the bird. Just before he ran off as well, he noticed a large, flat, black rocket launch from the volcano and head towards the mainland. _"Okay...that definately isn't good."_ He thought to himself as he escaped into the trees.

_With Sora's group:_

"I should have told you I was fired, I admit it. I just didn't want you to worry." Mr. Incredible apologized as he and the others ran through the dense trees.

"You didn't want me to worry, and now we're running for our lives through this forsaken jungle!" Mrs. Incredible replied.

"You keep trying to pick a fight, I'm just happy you're alive." The red-themed hero laughed.

"Yeah, but our kids may not be for much longer if we don't find them!" Helen sternly spoke.

"_They're right…I wonder if I could use Aura Perception…" _Sora thought to himself as he closed his eyes while running, instantly his senses expanded. After a few seconds of looking, he felt nothing other than the nearby environment, so he focused harder to stretch his senses further. Now he felt something, off to the east, he could feel Kairi's presence, Donald, Goofy, and Terra's as well, along with two unfamiliar ones, and most notably several cold spots surrounding them. "Guys! They're this way!" Sora yelled as he change course, not opening his eyes so he could follow his senses to them.

"What? How can he tell?" Mr. Incredible questioned in shock as he, his wife, and Riku turned to follow the Keyblade Master.

"Let's just say he's using his 'super power'." Riku explained; taking note that he too could smell familiar scents coming in the direction that Sora ran off to.

_With Terra, Kairi, and the others:_

"Keep going! I'll slow them down." Terra barked as he downed one of the patrol platforms that held a guard by slashing it in two. He then used his speed to dodge the shots coming from the peons' guns, being sure to stay close to his friends as they retreated from their pursuers. He was aided by Donald, who casted a Thundaga spell which destroyed another platform that was looming dangerously close to Terra's head. Goofy then tossed his shield like a boomerang to knock out another guard. No matter how hard they tried though, there always seemed to be more and more minions chasing them.

"There's too many. We can't fight them all." Violet panted as she readied herself to summon a shield in a last ditch effort to defend herself and her friends. A second later, a large bolder came hurtling through the air and leveled a group of the flying platforms, followed by countless bolts of Firaga and Dark Firaga, which caused the other guards to back off, but not retreat.

"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed as she looked in the direction of the attacks. Sure enough, Sora, Riku, and the Incredible parents were there.

"Heh, now I like our odds…not that I intended on giving up anyway." Terra muttered as he readied his Keyblade to make another stand.

"Good, cuz then I'd never let you hear the end of it." Sora laughed as he and his group joined the others. The guards and heroes stared each other down, waiting to see who would move first. The guards struck first, letting loose all their machine gun fire in an effort to level the intruders. "I got it!" Sora exclaimed as he summoned a Reflega. Riku and Terra responded by jumping around the flanks and letting loose a spray of magic, Riku's classic Dark Firaga, and a string of Magic bullets from Terra. Mr. and Mrs. Incredible were the next to move, the bulky hero used his massive strength to bash through the front line of enemies, while his wife used her elastically enhanced flexibility to knock out others with well placed punches and kicks.

"Whoa…this is awesome!" Dash opened his mouth, awestruck at what his parents, and friends were capable of.

"Well, don't just stand there, have some fun." Sora smirked as he lowered the Reflega and began to hack and slash his way through the guards. Dash grinned as he used his super speed to zip through the large group, delivering swift punches to their heads, knees, and other various body parts. Violet decided to get into the action as well, using her force fields to toss the hapless guards around while she, Donald, and Goofy stayed close to Kairi. Just as the tide of the battle seemed to swing in favor of the heroes, an all too annoying voice rang out.

"Whoa, whoa, time out!" The voice was that of Syndrome, who shot his "zero-point" energy from his gloves, freezing all of the heroes. "What's this? Matching uniforms?" Syndrome questioned as he pulled everyone close to inspect his "catch", taking special note of Mrs. Incredible, whose body was stretched, as she was about ready to knock out another guard. "Oh no…Elastagirl, **you** married Elastagirl? Oh, and got **busy!**" He laughed as he noticed Dash and Violet. "It's a whole **family **of supers! Oh-ho, this is just too gewd!" Syndrome spoke in a pseudo-country accent. "And the capture of the Keyblade Master and his friends makes this so much sweeter." The red-headed villain smirked as he signaled for his guards to detain the heroes.

A/N: Well, everyone's back together, unfortunately it's in the clutches of Syndrome XP. Will they be able to escape before it's too late? Find out in the next chapter.

~KBMP


	19. Ch17: Visions of Grandeur or Insanity?

A/N: Yes! Another quick update :D. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, I had some fun writing it, lol. Be sure to leave a review before you go. Oh, and a invisicookie to **VioletFox127 **for reviewing not once, but twice :D. Thank you, and feel free to drop by and read any time (not that you need my approval, lol).

Disclaimer: I don't own Kindgom Hearts, or anything related to it.

Chapter 17: Visions of Grandeur, or Insanity?

Sora angrily jerked in his "special" restraints, trying his best to free himself, but to no avail.

"Heh, good luck getting out of those, even your 'special' Keyblade won't get you out of those. Xehanort had them specifically designed for you in mind." Syndrome smirked, causing a gasp to come from Terra.

"You've seen Master Xehanort?" Terra angrily questioned.

"Yeah, I've seen 'em, and I owe him a lot, he's given me the chance for revenge, but to rule this world as well." The would-be hero laughed. "Look at this." He smile grew even wider as he turned on the TV, revealing a large black jet with a large sphere in the middle that had crashed into a building in Metroville, Mrs. Incredible, Riku, and Terra gasped, being as they recognized the jet. "Huh? Huh? Oh come on, you've got to admit this is cool!" Syndrome insisted as he pointed to the screen in excitement. "It's just like a movie. The robot and Heartless will emerge dramatically; cause some damage and chaos. Throngs of screaming people, then **Syndrome** will save the day!" The red-headed villain pumped his fist in triumph. "I'll be a bigger hero than you ever were." He finished; a certain finality in his voice.

"You mean you killed off **real** heroes so you could…**pretend** to be one?!?" Mr. Incredible's voice had very obvious disdain in it.

"Oh, I'm **real**. **Real** enough to beat you **and** the 'legendary' Keyblade Master! And I did without your precious gifts, your oh-so-special powers. I'll give them heroics…I'll give them heroics live they've never seen before. Then, when I'm old and had my fun, I'll sell my inventions so **everyone** can be super. And when everyone'ssuper…**no one** will be." Syndrome laughed as he turned his back on the restrained heroes with a flick of his cape and left. A few minutes later, the monitor that Syndrome had turned on showed that the Omnidroid had now escaped from its transport, along with countless Heartless, and now they were beginning to wreak havoc on the hapless city of Metroville.

"I'm sorry…this is all my fault. I've been a lousy father…so obsessed with being overvalued that I undervalued what was most precious to me." Mr. Incredible sighed as he lowered his head in shame.

"Uh…sir." Kairi tried to interrupt, noticing that Violet was using her force field to create a gap between her restraints and the electrical currents, it worked. Then she gently lowered herself using the same ability.

"Shh…" Mrs. Incredible whispered.

"I was so caught up in the past…**you** are my greatest adventure, and I almost **missed** it. I swear, I'm gonna get us, and our friends, out of this safely…" The hulky-hero continued, only to be interrupted.

"Well, I think dad has made some great progress today, but why don't we wind down for now." Violet smiled as she pressed the release button, freeing everyone.

"We need to get to the mainland." Sora noted as he saw the situation steadily growing worse in Metroville.

"I think Riku and I saw a hangar on our way in." Mrs. Incredible commented as she faced Riku for confirmation.

"Yeah, it's this way." Riku agreed as he led the way to the hangar. When they arrived, the hangar appeared to be empty, save for an old van in the middle, with several excited voices coming from it. Further inspection revealed it to be guards watching the events unfold on the mainland.

"Excuse me…" Mr. Incredible whispered as he barged his way into the van, systematically beating up the guards inside and eliminating the threat. "C'mon." The super hero signaled that it was clear to enter the room.

"Well, this is the hangar, but where are the jets?" Mrs. Incredible questioned as she noticed the emptiness of the room.

"A jet's not fast enough…" Her husband explained.

"What's faster than a jet?" Sora questioned as he raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, how about a rocket?" Dash exclaimed as he pointed to the large, mechanical structure, similar to that which carried the Omnidroid and Heartless in the back of the hangar, only with a large gaping hole in the middle, likely designed to hold the Omnidroid.

"Great…I can't fly a rocket…" Helen laughed in disbelief.

"You don't have to…just use the coordinates from the last launch." Violet explained.

"Wait…Syndrome's likely changed the password since last time. How will we get the coordinates now?" Sora questioned, crossing his arms in thought.

"_Say 'please'."_ A familiar voice echoed over the intercom, it was Mirage, who readily gave them the password. A few minutes later, they had come up with a slightly…unconventional means of getting to the mainland. They would use the van that was previously vacated by Mr. Incredible, and stow it in the spare containment pod for the Omnidroid and load that up into the rocket while Mrs. Incredible would use her stretchy body to hold the van up when they got close, and Violet would use her force field to soften the landing.

"You know…that might be just crazy enough to work." Riku chuckled as they finalized the details of the plan.

"Good, then let's get going." Mr. Incredible commanded as everyone loaded up on the van/jet contraption they had created, and launched towards the mainland.

_Metroville, Financial District:_

Countless civilians and soldiers ran about screaming from the unhindered destruction caused by the Omnidroid, along with the several dozen Heartless that were also causing chaos through the city as well. The Omnidroid, in the midst of its rampage, picked up a bus and chucked it at a small group of people. Just before it destroyed its intended targets, however, a beam reached out and stopped it. The bus was slowly lifted away, revealing Syndrome.

"The supers have returned! Is that Fironic?" One man questioned.

"No…Fironic had a different costume." A woman replied.

"No, no, I'm a new super hero…I'm **Syndrome**!" The red-headed man dramatically introduced himself as he nonchalantly threw the bus away, causing an explosion.

The Omnidroid, unphased by this new "threat", tried to grasp the new target, but before it could, Syndrome pressed a button on his gauntlet, freezing the giant robot in its tracks.

"Heh, looks like someone needs to teach his hunk of metal…" Syndrome commented as he used his "rocket boots" to fly up to the immobile robot. The man reared up to punch, but just before he did, he discreetly pressed another button on his gauntlet, and then delivered the punch. The result: one of the Omnidroid's four feet just popped off. By this point, the Omnidroid identified the gauntlet as the true threat, so it adjusted its "eye" and shot a concentrated blast at the device, knocking it off of Syndrome's glove, then it raised one of its metal claws to swipe at Syndrome, clipping one of his feet and causing the rocket on that foot to malfunction, forcing the would-be hero to go spinning out of control into a nearby building, knocking the red-headed man out cold.

_With the Heroes:_

About ten minutes after they launched, the darkness caused by the carrying pod was broken as it broke off, revealing the van being held up by Mrs. Incredible.

"Are we there yet?" Dash moaned, causing a laugh to escape Kairi's lips.

"We'll get there when we get there!" Mr. Incredible barked as he rolled down the window and leaned out. "How 'ya doing, honey?" He yelled.

"Do I **have** to answer?" Elastagirl yelled back through the wind.

"Alright guys, strap yourselves in like I said." The large man commanded, prompting everyone to buckle their seatbelts. "Here we go, honey!" He warned his wife; then turned to his daughter, "Ready Violet?" The superhero questioned, Violet responded by lifting her hand up. "Ready…now!" With that, his daughter created a force field as the rocket split in two, causing Mrs. Incredible to let go and slip into the van next to her husband. Violet used the force field to gently guide the van to the road, and as soon as they made contact, Mr. Incredible floored the accelerator in an effort to get to the disaster zone as quickly as possible.

A/N: The heroes are on their way...but will they be able to save Metroville in time? Can they stand up not only to the power of the Omnidroid, but the Heartless as well? Find out in the next chapter! Don't forget to review :D.

~KBMP


	20. Chapter 18: Big City Clash

Disclaimer: I don't own anything KH (wish I did though).

A/N: I'm back!!!!!!! Sorry for the insane delay at updating, but I've been away at college for the past 3 months, lol. Anyway, I will be doing some wicked fast updates, so feel free to drop by and review.

Chapter 18: Big City Clash

After several "eventful" moments and arguing about which freeway to take, the group of heroes had finally arrived at their destination: the financial district of Metroville. Mr. Incredible was about to step out of the van, but his wife stopped him.

"Bob…" Mrs. Incredible placed her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Wait here and stay hidden, I'm going in." The large man whispered as he gently took his wife's hands into his own.

"While what? I watch helplessly on the sidelines? I don't think so!" The brown-haired woman angrily reprimanded.

Sora, realizing the gravity of the situation, turned to Kairi, "Hey, I want you to find a safe place and hide, too." He sighed.

"Come on, Sora…I've stood by and watched you risk your life for far too long. I…I want to help." Kairi whispered as she placed her right hand over her bicep left arm, which what she always did when she was nervous.

"I know you do, Kairi…but the best way you can help is to find a safe place and hide. I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt because I couldn't protect you…so, please…help us by doing that, okay? And **promise** me you won't leave until I come get you." Sora's eyes showed that he was serious.

"…Okay…but what makes you so sure you'll survive…from what you've told me, the Omnidroid has killed **countless **supers…" Kairi looked into Sora's eyes in an effort to find strength, but before she could finish her thought, she felt the comforting sensation of Sora's lips gently pressed against hers as he pulled her into a hug.

"Don't worry, I **promise** I'll be back. Besides, the Omnidroid hasn't faced a **Keyblade** warrior, let alone three." Sora smiled as they pulled apart.

"You and Riku help the Incredibles, I'll make sure Kairi's safe. Rest assured: I'll give my very life to do it, if I must." Terra gave an assuring nod as he placed a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Let's hope you don't have to…thank you." The young Keyblade Master gave a grateful smile as he gave a longing look to Kairi, and then ran off to join the other heroes.

"Now, stay close to me, Princess, we'll find a secure location." Terra gave a bow, then summoned his Keyblade, ready to guard against any pending danger they surely would face.

_With Sora and the others:_

"Alright, the Heartless will be easy enough; we have to destroy the Omnidroid if we are to have any shot at saving the city." Mr. Incredible explained as he heroes joined in a group huddle.

"Gwarsh, Donald and I can handle the Heartless…we'd kinda get in your way against the Omni-thingy." Goofy scratched his head in thought.

"Sounds good, now we don't have much time, the Omnidroid has been slowly progressing through the city and it'll be here any minute now. We need the element of surprise, and keep in mind: the thing is always learning, so be careful." The hulky hero exchanged glances with his wife, being as she had convinced him that they would get through this as a family.

"Good to know…" Sora nervously chuckled; just then, the ground began to tremble, nearly shaking the group off their feet.

"Here it comes, brace yourself!" The red-clad superhero commanded as he and he others looked to see the massive, spherical robot emerge from behind the buildings, its cold, lifeless red-colored eye staring down at the group.

"Scatter, divert its attention!" Mrs. Incredible yelled as ran up to the robot, stretched herself around two nearby light posts to create a tripwire. The robot was too large and slow to notice the quick movement, so he trap worked, and the titanic robot came crumbling down. Sora and Riku use this opportunity to close in and strike at the joint of the Omnidroid's four legs, but instead of cutting the armor, their strikes merely dented it.

"What the…this is gonna be tougher than we thought…" Sora grit his teeth as he cast a Blizzaga to try and freeze the joints, this was successful. However, a second later, the monstrous robot began to right itself, shattering the ice around its joints. "Not good…" The Keyblade Master muttered as he rolled out of the way of one of the monster's claws. Sora's consentration was broken by the sounds of screaming.

"Dash! Vi! No!" Mrs. Incredible's voice rang in horror; Sora turned his attention to the kids in question, only to see the Omnidroid loom in on them, bashing away at a shield that Violet had generated to protect her and her sibling. After a few, powerful strokes, the Droid hoisted his massive, spherical body over the two children, then slammed its entire hulk on the dome-like shield protecting the children, causing Violet to faint in exhaustion. The Omnidroid then raised itself up again to smash its targets, only to be thwarted to Mr. Incredible, who rushed under the robot in the nick of time and used his super-human strength to hold off the robot. Sora and Mrs. Incredible rushed in to help, each grabbing the kids and carried them away from harm. Mr. Incredible then used his strength to lift the robot up and push it off its legs, causing it to roll away. Just as Mr. Incredible prepared himself to reengage the massive robot, he noticed a small white, cuff-like object laying just off to his right. Immediately he picked it up and recognized what it was.

"Syndrome's remote!" The red-clad hero exclaimed in victory, alerting the Omnidroid to his "success", and began to aggressively approach him, prompting the hero to press a button on the control.

"A remote? A remote that controls what?" Sora questioned as he heard Mr. Incredible shout. Just then the Omnidroid's jets went out of control, causing it to go spinning out of control and crashing into a nearby building. "Oh…the robot…nice." The Keyblade Master smirked as he ran next to Mr. Incredible. "So, what now…your strength can't dent it, and our Keyblades are no good either. How do we stop it?"

"I don't know…I guess the only thing strong enough to pierce it is…itself." Mr. Incredible raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he saw a dismembered claw of the Omnidroid laying off to the side. Sora looked at it as well, his eyes widening in realization. "Honey, hold the remote!" They hulky hero shouted as he tossed the remote to his wife, who caught it.

"What now?" Mrs. Incredible questioned.

"Hold on a second. Sora, you and Riku keep the Omnidroid busy while I get this claw ready." Mr. Incredible ordered as he ran and began to position the claw.

"You heard the man, Sora. Let's distract the robot." Riku gave a sarcastic laugh as the two Keyblade warriors began to attack the Omnidroid.

"Which button is it?" Violet questioned, now conscious after her harrowing encounter with the massive robot.

"Try this one!" Dash excitedly shouted as he jumped up and pushed a button. Just behind them, the claw that Mr. Incredible was lifting began to spin like a drill.

"Not that one!" The Incredible father angrily shouted, only to be met by the claw's jets activating, causing him to struggle to keep the claw from flying off. As soon as it started, however, it stopped. "Wait a minute…press that button again!"

"Not yet, you've only got one shot." Mrs. Incredible shouted back as she observed Sora freezing the Omnidroid's remaining claws to the ground, while Riku used his Dark Barrier to box in the robot. A couple of seconds later, the Omnidroid finally stood still just long enough…"NOW!!!"

"Everybody, get **down!**" Mr. Incredible shouted, causing everyone to duck out of the way as he released the claw. The jets kicked on, carrying it straight through the Omnidroid's mechanical "heart", ceasing all function. The Omnidroid fell lifeless to the ground. "Phew…it's over…" Mr. Incredible sighed as he fell to the ground as his family and friends came over to show their joy and relief.

"You all just stay put. Riku, let's go check on Donald and Goofy." Sora smiled as they walked off to check on their friends. In a pleasant turn of events, Donald and Goofy had destroyed all the Heartless, being as there were nothing more than lesser-class forms of the dark creatures.

"Good job, guys. Looks like our work here is done." Sora smiled in relief as he began to use his "Aura Perception" to find Terra and Kairi to keep his promise. He felt their presence off to the west, but he also felt another presence…one dark, and all too familiar. "The Apprentice!" Sora angrily grumbled, drawing his friends' attention as he ran off towards the park.

_With Terra and Kairi_:

"I hate not being able to help…" Kairi muttered as she and Terra ran off towards a nearby park.

"Don't worry, it's like Sora said, you are helping when you're safe. That way, he only has to worry about **his** safety while he's fighting." Terra gave an assuring smiled. Just then, they saw the Omnidroid collapse, their friends had won. "Good, you can relax now. Sora will be here, and we'll all be fine." True to his word, he saw Sora and the others running in their direction, only they seemed panicked.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Kairi inquired, worried as to what would cause Sora to seemed as panicked as he was.

"You…you mean you haven't seen Xehanort's Apprentice?" Sora raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"No, why?" Terra inquired.

"I sensed him a minute ago, and he was over in this direction…that's odd." The Keyblade Master crossed his arm in thought as he tried to sense him again…nothing.

_Dark Alley, Metroville, a few moments earlier_:

Out from the darkness stepped a looming figure, his domed helmet covering his obvious disdain for the person at his feet. There, Syndrome still lay unconscious, from his conflict with his own creation.

"_Heh…foolish whelp. You let your pride grow out of control…you will soon learn your place."_ Xehanort's Apprentice hissed as he hoisted Syndrome's limp body over his shoulder as he carried him through a dark portal, leaving the world of Metroville.

_Financial District, Metroville:_

"So, where do you go from here?" Mr. Incredible questioned as he shook hands with his Sora to show his appreciation.

"Well, we keep hunting down the Heartless and their masters so villains like Syndrome don't come up again." Sora smiled as he and the others walked up to the Gummy Ship.

"Well, good luck. If you need any help, you know where to find us." Mrs. Incredible gave everyone a hug good bye, prompting her kids to do the same.

"Thanks for that, Mrs. I. We'll keep that in mind." Sora waved as he boarded the ship to prepare it for launch; after which, Violet approached Kairi.

"Hey, thanks for talking with me earlier." The young heroine gave a warm hug in thanks.

"No problem, you'll be fine. I just know it." The auburn-haired princess assured as she returned the hug.

"I needed to hear that. Be sure to invite us, should you expect **wedding bells**." Violet winked, causing Kairi to blush.

"Uh…that might still be a way off, but I certainly will." Kairi stammered as she and the rest boarded the ship after one last good-bye. A few moments later, the ship took off.

_Gummy ship:_

"So…are ya' gonna use your 'Aura Perceptive' thingy, again?" Goofy chuckled.

"I guess I have to…but the last time I used it in space, it gave me a bad headache, remember?" Sora muttered, a little reluctant to use his ability, but he closed his eyes and began to concentrate. His senses sharpened, stretching farther than they had ever gone before, being as there were no dark presences nearby. Eventually, they alerted him to a familiar "deathly chill" straight ahead. A few moments later, however, his whole body became overwhelmed with a tingling sensation as he collapsed, everything went dark.

A/N: Dun dun duuunnnn-what's wrong with Sora now? Will he be able to wake up in time to tell the others where they need to go? What plans does Xehanort's Apprentice have for Syndrome? Find out as I update :D. Oh, and please be sure to leave a review! Merry Christmas.


	21. Chapter 19: Distant Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it.

A/N: As promised, here's another chapter, thanks to an anonymous reviewer codenamed "?????" and dbzgtfan2004 for reviewing, you each get invisicookies :D. Now, please feel free to review and let me know how I did. On with the show:

Chapter 19: Distant Memories

"Ugh…what's going on?" Sora mumbled as he groggily opened his eyes. "Wha—what the?" He asked in shock as he realized where he was. Sandy beaches, the pleasant smell of ocean salt, the gentle breeze accompanied by the sun beating on his back. Without a doubt, it was Destiny Islands, particularly, the mainland city. He was shocked, to be sure by waking up to this familiar sight, but he shook it off after he realized he was alone. The town was quiet, quieter than usual. "I'm back? But where are the others?" Sora nervously looked around the mainland to see if he could find anyone, particularly his friends.

As he was searching, he received the sudden urge to go to his house where he and his mom lived. The sensation grew stronger as he approached his home. There it was: a quaint, little house just off the shore. He could see the smaller island where he and the others hung out behind his house, but that wasn't what he was concerned about as he opened the front door and walked in.

"Hello?" Sora announced his presence as the door creaked open, but he received no response. "Uh—anyone?" The brunette Keyblade Master's voice rang out again as he walked in, this time, he heard something.

" Wh—what do you mean daddy's not coming back?" A small, young-sounding voice cracked a few rooms down—his bedroom. Sora noticed that voice received no reply as he made his way to the room where the voice came from. Again he was shocked; what he saw was a younger version of himself sitting on his bed crying heavily; from the looks of things, the "younger" Sora seemed to be no more than four years old, and sitting next to him was a younger version of his mom, her long, light brown hair solemnly draped over her face as she held her son close.

"That's all I can tell you, Sora—I know you don't understand it now, but we need to be strong." His mother soothed as she ran her hand through the small child's spiky hair.

"But it hurts—" Little Sora whined as he buried his head in his mom's lap, continuing to weep.

"I know, I know—" Sora's mother whispered as she comforted her son, tears streaming down her face. Sora was about to step in and ask what was happening, but before he could he heard a familiar voice in his head.

"_Sora?"_ A male voice, which sounded somewhat like his, echoed throughout the house; Sora instantly recognized it.

"Roxas, is that you?" Sora looked around.

"_Yeah, it's me."_ Roxas replied.

"You mind telling me what's going on?" Sora frantically spoke; obviously puzzled by what he just saw.

"_I was hoping you'd tell me. I found this memory hidden away in your mind, but it didn't seem like the others, so I thought I'd show it to you. Do know what happened here?"_ Roxas inquired as an ethereal form of himself appeared before Sora.

"No—I didn't even know I had this memory." Sora frowned as he lowered his head in thought.

"Well, there's defiantly more to it, but your mind won't let me freely pull it out. Did you know your father?" Roxas crossed his arms as he raised his eyebrow.

"…No—not really. All I remember was being little, and waking up one day to find that he was gone." Sora recalled as he sighed.

"Hm…that's strange. The heart will sometimes lock away painful memories. Well, I guess I'll keep working on this memory and let you know if I find anything else. This seems important." Roxas placed his hand on Sora's shoulder as a sign of assurance. "Oh, and don't overwork yourself with the Aura Perception. You've not trained yourself to stretch it as far as you did last time yet without taxing your senses dry. Head in the D-sector of worlds—that's what you sensed before you passed out. But you'd better wake up, someone's worried about you." Roxas smiled as all of a sudden Sora felt that he was being sucked up into a tornado, causing everything around him to go black. The next thing he knew, he was waking up to the sensation of a soft bed to his back and a cold cloth to his forehead. He didn't have time to look around before he was met with a familiar embrace. Apparently Kairi had stayed by his side while he was out. After he returned the embrace, he tried to right himself, but he was met with a painful headache.

"Ouch…what happened?" Sora asked as he rubbed his forehead.

"You blacked out after you used your Aura Perception. We put you in here—you had me worried."

"I'm sorry, Kairi. I guess I do that a lot." Sora let out a half-hearted chuckle as he got out of bed.

"What's wrong?" Kari tilted her head in puzzlement.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sora blinked nervously.

"You seem—thoughtful for some reason. More so than usual, I mean."

"I—just had an odd dream is all." The Keyblade Master slowly spoke, debating whether or not to tell her what his dream was about.

"Are you okay? Something you want to talk about?" The auburn princess prodded.

"Nah, I'm fine. Thanks though." Sora smirked as he gave Kairi a quick peck on the cheek before he turned to the door.

"And where do you think **you're **headed to?" Kairi curiously raised her eyebrow.

"What? I'm fine." The blue-eyed Keyblade Master matched Kairi's inquisitiveness with his own tone.

"Let's see: you passed out, lay unconscious for hours, and you're just going to walk off like that?"

"Uh—yeah, worse has happened to me, Kairi." Sora laughed as he ran off to the cockpit.

"Ugh—I don't know how he does it." Kairi snickered as she followed him.

The two arrived in the cockpit of the Gummy ship and were greeted by the others.

"Hey, welcome back. How'r ya feelin?" Goofy waved from his seat.

"I'm fine guys, just over did it a bit. I know where we need to go though." Sora informed as he walked up to the control panel.

"Where's that, Sora?" Riku questioned as he walked up next to his friend.

"The D-sector—that's all I know for now, but we'll figure out what to do when we get there." Sora assured as he input the coordinates for their destination, causing the Gummy ship to rumble as her engines changed direction.

A/N: Okay--so Sora has had a very...odd dream. What is the meaning of it? What awaits the gang in the D-Sector? Find out in the next chapter :D. Merry Christmas.


	22. Chapter 20: Dessert Nights

Disclaimer: Same as always, don't own anything KH or related to it.

A/N: Well, this will be my last update before Christmas (yup CHRISTmas), anyway please do enjoy and let me know what you think of this chapter. This will be a harder world to do because very little about the movie has been released, save for the general plot. So yes, I will be exercising some author freedoms here.

Chapter 20: Desert Nights

After arriving at the "approximate" location of their destination, Sora and the others began to look around; they were not exactly sure what they were looking for, however. After about an hour or so, Donald spoke up.

"Sora, why don't ya go ahead and use your powa again?" The duck magician raised an eyebrow in concern, guessing Sora would be hesitant. Sora's only response was silence, confirming Donald's suspicions.

"I—I guess I'll give it a shot." Sora slowly nodded his head in agreement, after which he closed his eyes and allowed the now familiar sensation of sensory explosion to overcome his body. Slowly but surely, his senses stretched out, Sora was being particularly careful to take it slow this time to avoid overloading his senses again. It was working! Sora could feel the unmistakable cold presence, and it was close. "Land on that world—" Sora's voice had an edge of certainty to it as he pointed to a world that appeared to be mostly desert, save for the areas that surrounded the rivers and lakes on the world.

"You got it!" Donald smiled with satisfaction as he punched in the landing sequence, prompting the others to take their seats. After the ship landed, the computer's mechanical voice echoed through the vessel: _"Welcome to Persia, the 'Realm of Deserts'."_

"Well, now we know where we are—let's go see if we can't find our 'old friend'." Riku scoffed as he and the others made their way out of the ship. Sure enough, when they opened the door, they were met with sweltering heat that only comes with the hot desert winds.

"Wow—we can't go walking around in **these** clothes in this heat. We'd die of heat stroke." Kairi gasped from the heat as she wiped the already forming sweat from her forehead.

"She's right, our clothes are too heavy. We'd need to wear something cooler, but we don't have lighter clothes." Terra, with his terrain expertise as his guide, cautioned as he crossed his arms in frustration.

"Yeah—Agrabah was desert like, but it wasn't even **near **as hot." Sora mumbled as he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

"I got it—I'll use my magic to change ah clothes." Donald smirked as he pulled out his mage's staff.

"Uh—okay, have at it, Donald." Sora painfully winced in anticipation of what was to come.

"All done." The duck-mage chuckled in pride. To which Sora opened his eyes, and much to his astonishment, wasn't turned into some sort of crazy creature—or worse. Instead, he was garbed in clothes akin to those of Aladdin. He was in a black vest with no shirt underneath, a white sash across his neck, and white, baggy slacks as pants. He noticed that Riku and Terra were wearing similar clothing, except for the fact that their vests were navy and brown, respectively. Then Sora looked at Kairi, and nearly fell back in shock. She was clothed in an outfit similar to that of Jasmine, only it was purple; there was also a silken veil covering her mid-section, and in Sora's opinion, caught her beauty very effectively.

"Sora—are you okay?" Kairi began to blush at Sora's "obvious" enthrallment.

"Uh—yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I guess we better find out where we need to go." Sora recalled his wits as he began to use Aura Perception to find any traces of life in this desert, and more importantly, Xehanort's Apprentice.

_Persepolis, Palace Complex:_

The sun was beginning to set on Persepolis, the beautiful and thriving capitol of the Persian Empire was home to many people, ranging from noblemen to peasants and back again. The hot desert sands were held in check by the many technological advancements that allowed for comfortable living by all, **especially** the royal family, who lived in the large, beautiful palace in the very heart of the city. On the northern balcony of the palace stood a tall, bald, older (but not "aged") man. It was Nizam, brother to the Emperor himself. His eyes were closed in thought as he rested his arms on the balcony railing.

"Soon, this marvelous kingdom shall be mine, and that embarrassment of a brother shall be out of my way. Soon—" The graying man muttered in thought, only to be interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps.

"_You might want to be cautious about voicing your darkest wishes like that, Nizam."_ A cold voice hissed, prompting Nizam to turn around and was greeted by the form off the Apprentice.

"Oh, it's **you**—how goes the search?" Nizam's eyes narrowed in anticipation.

"_Kssk—the prince is harder to find than a Shadow in the night."_ Xehanort's Apprentice hissed in disgust, obviously displeased with himself.

"No need to worry, Prince Dastan will show up in due time. Stupid brat was wise not to trust me—pity his father doesn't suspect a thing." Nizam smirked as he patted his trusty scimitar that rested at his side.

"_Move with caution. I am not instructed to aid you in __**every**__ matter, Nizam."_ The Dark Soldier cautioned as he disappeared into the darkness.

_Persepolis, Outskirts:_

For about three hours Sora, using his Aura Perception, had been leading the others, following the distinct sensation of water, and the all too familiar chill of darkness. Donald had been casting Aqua to keep everyone refreshed as they followed their "leader". Finally, just as the sun was beginning to set, they began to see the outline of what looked like a city, a very large one at that.

"Sora, look. A city!" Goofy patted Sora on the back, causing the brunette hero to wince in pain.

"Ouch, Goofy!" Sora groaned as he rubbed his back in pain.

"Well, gwarsh, Sora. What's the matter?" Goofy raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"My senses are in overload, meaning everything I smell, taste, hear—and **feel** is more powerful than usual." Sora glared at Goofy, prompting the Captain of the Guard to silently mouth "sorry" with a downtrodden face. "It's alright, you didn't know. Anyway, yeah, I felt the city's presence a while back, but it was kind of fuzzy up until about a few minutes ago. We need to be on our toes—I sensed Xehanort's Apprentice there." Sora cautioned as they pressed on towards the city. They walked in and were almost in awe at the beauty of the city, even in the darkness.

"This is incredible." Kairi eyes dazzled in wonderment as she took in the sights of the city. Donald and Goofy agreed with her, but Sora, Riku, and Terra were too busy cautiously darting their gazes back and forth as they slowly walked through the city. Kairi noticed their silence, "What's wrong, guys?"

"We're being followed—" Terra grumbled in response.

"Whadda we do?" Goofy nervously questioned.

"Just relax and pretend we don't notice—leave the rest to us." Riku assured as they pressed on.

A/N: Well now--who is this stranger that is following Sora and the gang? What does he want? Find out on the next update, be sure to drop a review before you go :D.

~KBMP


	23. Chapter 21: Shadows In the Sand

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix/Squaresoft, ect.

A/N: Um...I know I said that the last update would be my last till after Christmas, but I had a strange urge to type away, so here you go. Consider this your all's Christmas gift from me to you, lol. Be sure to leave a review before you go, and enjoy:

Chapter 21: Shadows In the Sand

After noticing their "friend", the group began to make their way to a secluded location so they wouldn't make a scene when they confronted him.

"Keep going, I'll catch up." Riku whispered as he subtly made a turn down a nearby alleyway, disappearing into the darkness. The others followed directions and kept walking, progressing to the more—questionable parts of the city. Eventually they came to a dead end, and turned around to see their follower. It was a taller man, garbed in a black tunic and pants, complimented by a red sash tied around his waist, and in that sash was hilted a serrated scimitar. The strange man's identity was hidden by a black cloth that covered all but his eyes, which bore no detectable malice as much as they did curiosity. Just as the black-garbed man began to approach the group, a familiar voice broke the darkness.

"Don't move—" Riku warned as he stepped behind the stalker, Way to the Dawn edging the unknown man's back.

"How did you—" The stalker voiced his shock as he raised his hands in surrender.

"Let's just say you're not the only one who knows how to sneak around in the dark." Riku calmly replied. "Now tell me, why were you following us?"

"I've heard about you—or at least someone **like** you. If you are who I believe you to be, then I seek your help. I fear this land may be in danger." The cloaked man voice revealed genuine concern.

"Alright—we'll listen. Who do you suppose we are, and how did you hear about us?" Sora questioned, placing his curled knuckle under his chin in expectation.

"A young man whose hair stands like the point of the spear and is colored like the sand of the beach, and whose eyes are of ocean blue, he is said to wield a weapon beyond compare: a weapon, shaped like a key that can either bring salvation, or destruction. Surely you **must** be him; no other man in these lands bears those features; for you see my people and I are of a—different sort." The black dressed stranger slowly unraveled the cloth hiding his face, revealing a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties. His facial features included neck-long brown hair, dark brown eyes, tan skin, and he had rugged facial hair that, complimented with his strong-cut chin, gave him a degree of handsomeness. "I am Dastan, Prince of Persia; and as you can see, people of this land bear nothing that matches **your **description, my friend." Dastan bowed as a sign of regality, prompting the others to briefly introduce themselves before the conversation continued.

"Gwarsh, Dastan, if you're a prince, why aren't ya livin' in yer palace?" Goofy scratched his head in confusion. This question caused the Persian prince's expression to visibly darken.

"You see—it's my uncle, Nizam. I don't have the physical evidence to prove it, but he wishes to steal the throne from my father, the king. I fear Nizam seeks to do my father harm to get the throne." Dastan's voice showed clear concern.

Riku, having now dismissed Way to the Dawn, walked over to his friends and then faced the prince, "So, why aren't you at the palace warning your father?"

"You see—I only **heard** Nizam speak of this with another man. In my father's kingdom, you need physical evidence to convict someone, so even though I am the king's very own son and next in line to the throne, I am still bound by the laws of the land. I cannot accuse my uncle without proper evidence." Dastan gritted his teeth in frustration, then continued speaking, "I fled the palace not only for my life, but for my father's as well. You see: Nizam may be a treacherous dog, but he is no fool. He will not kill my father to get the throne as long as the lone threat to his claim still lives. So now I, the Prince of these very lands, play the role of fugitive for these past few months to bide my uncle's hand—I have even resorted to thievery every now and then just to get by." The desert prince clenched his fists.

"Doesn't your father care you're missing?" Kairi questioned, to which Dastan just shook his head.

"My father doesn't suspect a thing; he thinks I'm off visiting the corners of his kingdom visiting the commoners. This is also to slow my uncle's progress, for if my father was suspicious of his brother, that may have caused Nizam to hasten his plans."

"Makes sense—but you said you heard Nizam talking with another man. What did he look like?" Sora crossed his arms in curiosity.

"He was a man, or at least** looked** like a man. His face was covered by glass as black as the night, and his armor was like nothing I have ever seen before: it appeared as though it were made of—dyed flesh." Dastan looked up in thought as he recalled the image of the man, almost immediately Sora, Terra, and Riku reacted.

"The Apprentice!" The three Keyblade Warriors exclaimed in unison.

"So you know this man?" Dastan raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah—let's just say he's not good news at all." Sora confirmed, he then reached out and shook Dastan's hand, "We will help you save your father."

"Thank you, but it is late now. Please, follow me to my hideout; we will be safe there for the night." Dastan assured as he turned and led his new allies to the location that he spoke of. It wasn't all that big or fancy, just a small building with a few essentials: a bed, quilts, food, ect. "I know it's not a palace, but it's my home for now. We will talk strategy in the morning, but for now let us sleep. Kairi may have the bed for the night, the rest of us shall sleep on the floor." Dastan stretched in exhaustion as he pulled out the quilts and passed them around, and with that, the heroes and heroine went to sleep for the night.

A/N: So, what awaits our heroes as they help their new friend Dastan? What do Nizam and Xehanort's Apprentice have in store for them, and the current King of Persia? Find out as I update, and be sure to review :D. In the words of the immortal, jolly, red-clad elderly man: "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."


	24. Chapter 22: Running Sands

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything related to it, so there you go :D.

A/N: I trust you all had a great Christmas? Well, here's the next update, be sure to let me know what you think before you leave by reviewing, okay? lol.

Chapter 22: Running Sands

_The next morning:_

Sora slowly and groggily rustled out of his cot, he was the first awake, as he noticed from looking around. With a yawn and a stretch, he stood up and walked out the back door to get some fresh air. Once he stepped outside, he instantly noticed that it was chilly, actually, it was downright cold; this was because the sun just now breaking the horizon.

"_Brrr…_Almost like back home, warm in the day—crazy cold at night." Sora shivered as he began to rub his arms to gather heat. As he began to watch the sun slowly crawl over the horizon, the young Keyblade Master found himself getting lost in his thoughts, _"Hm—Merlin said that Aura Perception might be able to feel intentions of others. I wonder—"_ He closed his eyes as he stretched out his other senses. It took him a while to move past his cold (which initially felt like he was buried in snow), but eventually he was able to sense further and further out. _"Let's see if Dastan is telling the truth, if I can—"_ Sora mused as he began to focus on the Persian Prince. Dastan's presence felt like a wind-worn rock accompanied by what one would feel if the sun were to their back. Sora noticed something that Dastan's "aura" shared with his friends: he felt nothing cold, at least nothing like the deathly cold that was associated with Xehanort's Apprentice. _"Hm—maybe he is. At least I think he is."_ The Keyblade Master curled his lip in curiosity, but this expression quickly changed to a faint smile when he felt a pleasant, ocean-themed aura approach him from behind. "Hey, Kairi, did you sleep well?" Sora softly inquired.

"Yeah, I had a good rest—I keep on forgetting that you can sense others." Kairi laughed as she walked up next to her boyfriend. After a few seconds of silence, Kairi began to shiver from the cold desert morning; which prompted Sora to wrap his strong arms around her shoulders to better shield her from the cold.

"Do you think we can trust him—Dastan, I mean." Kairi questioned as she leaned her head on Sora's shoulder.

"…Yeah, I don't know why, but I think we can trust him." Sora thoughtfully replied.

"Hm—alright, I trust you." Kairi gave a small chuckle.

"That easy, huh?" Sora smirked.

"That easy." The auburn haired princess nodded her head.

"If you two love birds are finished, Dastan's awake and wants to plan what we need to do to stop Nizam and the Apprentice." Riku's voice startled the couple, who turned around to see their silver haired friend standing in the door way with a mischievous look on his face. Without a word, the couple walked back inside, followed by Riku, who could only playfully mutter "hopeless" as he walked inside. Little did the heroes know that they were being watched by a scouting Shadow Heartless. Its gangly antennae twitched in curiosity as it slipped into the darkness and disappeared.

_Persepolis, Dastan's Hideaway_

"Ah yes, please take a seat. We have a great many things to discuss." Dastan smiled as Sora, Kairi, and Riku walked in, Donald and Goofy were already seated in what appeared to be the living room of the house. After everyone was seated, Dastan cleared his throat, "So, my father and Nizam are in the palace, in the very center of Persepolis—" the Persian Prince began to draw a rough sketch of the down on the dirt floor with his finger. "There are a few entrances that are less guarded than the others because they're reserved for the only noblemen: here, here, and here." He continued as he circled the northwest, east, and southern wings. "Now, the throne room is in the northern part of the palace on the highest floor. Nizam's personal chamber is not too far from that, just a little further down the hall. If we exercise stealth and caution, we just might sneak in unnoticed, and if we do that, Nizam is ours for the taking." Dastan crossed his arm in thought, and satisfaction.

"Yes, but there is one problem: the Apprentice will likely be with Nizam. I don't think he'd be so willing to watch us ruin an ally's plan." Sora scanned over the map on the floor.

"Agreed—I hate to say it, but we may have to draw out Xehanort's Apprentice in order to allow Dastan to take out Nizam." Terra coldly stared down in thought.

"Alright then, you, Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy will go in through the northeastern entrance and distract the guards while I go after my uncle. Hopefully, you'll draw out Xehanort's Apprentice." Dastan nodded in approval; it seemed logical enough. "We'll move in at nightfall, and use the cover of night to our advantage." The Persian Prince finished, leaning back in his chair in satisfaction, but he raised an eyebrow when he noticed Sora was acting a little strange; the young Keyblade Master's eyes shifting back and forth nervously. "What's the matter my friend, do you not approve of this plan?" Dastan inquired.

"I feel something's wrong—I feel cold. Almost like—" Sora slowly spoke, closing his eyes as if in thought. A second later, Sora's eyes flashed open in cold realization, "Guys, we need to get out, now! Heartless are closing in!" The brunette Keyblade Master exclaimed as he stood up and summoned his Keyblade, prompting the others to draw and summon their weapons. Just as Sora warned, dozens of Heartless began crashing in through the windows and doors of the house. They didn't look like normal Heartless though; they looked like poorly-stitched ragdolls of black and purple cloth, but the strangest thing about them was the fact that they were drooling what appeared to be golden sand.

"Alright, so what do we do now?" Riku nervously chuckled as he and the others walked back towards the wall.

"The same we always do—fight our way out." Sora smiled as he steadied his Keyblade.

"Heh, sounds like a plan to me." The silver-haired Keyblade warrior mirrored is friend's smile with one of his own as he too steadied his weapon. One Heartless twitched its head, and then lunged at the group. Without missing a beat, Sora defensively brought his Keyblade across the creature's chest, but the Heartless didn't disappear and release its captured hearts; instead it froze as golden sand similar to what the Heartless was drooling began to pour out of the wound. After a few seconds, the sand began to fill back into the cut, sealing the wound after it finished.

"What the—" Sora voiced his shock as he backed away from the Heartless.

"It can't be—these creatures are filled with the Sands of Time?" Dastan gasped as he nearly dropped his scimitar in shock.

A/N: What? Heartless filled with the legendary Sand's of Time? What kinds of problems will this produce for our heroes and how will this affect their plans to confront Dastan and the Apprentice? Finid out with the next few updates. Be sure to drop a review before you go :D.

~KBMP


	25. Chapter 23: Heated Exchange

A/N: Whoot! I'm back for the summer after another semester of college (double whoot!) Anyway, to celebrate, I figured I'd go ahead and post for this story, so here you go and hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything related to the franchise and anthing contected with it as well.

Chapter 23: Heated Exchange

"It can't be—these creatures are filled with the sands of time?" Dastan gasped in shock.

"Sands of time?" Sora questioned as he blocked a blow from another Heartless.

"Yes, it's magical sand that has a special connection with time itself. To use it though, you need the Dagger of Time—which the gods gave to the royal family as a token of power." Dastan explained as he fended off his own set of Heartless.

"Do you think Nizam has it since these Heartless are filled with it?" Terra grunted as he slashed a Heartless in half.

"No, I don't—we need to get away from here. I know another place we can hide." Dastan gruffly spoke as he slashed through his opponent.

"One exit, coming up!" Sora exclaimed as he cast a Firaga at the wall behind him, blasting a decently-sized hole in the wall. "C'mon, let's go." The spiky-haired Keyblader ordered as he grabbed Kairi's hand and guided her outside, the others immediately followed. They ran through the city until the number of Heartless that followed them finally dwindled to none at all. They left the city limits and began to catch their breath now that enemies were no longer following them.

"Now that we've lost them, Dastan—where are we headed to exactly?" Riku questioned as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"We are going a safe house that's about two hour's journey from Persepolis. It's connected to the palace, but it's linked by a secret passage that only a few know about—and Nizam is not one of them because otherwise, he would have the Dagger of Time, which is secretly hidden there." Dastan smirked as they pressed on through the desert, the heat seemingly having no effect on him, whereas the others of the group were obviously feeling the heat. After a while of travelling, Sora was beginning to get worried as he watched Kairi being worn out by the heat.

"Dastan, are we almost there? We're not quite—used to the desert." Sora voiced his concern as he walked up to the Prince of Persia.

"Yeah, we'll be up on it in no time." Dastan assured as he pointed in the direction of that they needed to head to reach the safe house.

_Persepolis, Palace Complex:_

Nizam angrily stormed into his personal chambers, his face bore obvious signs of frustration. "I don't believe it—even after we used those Heartless!"

"Now now, I told you that your princely pest would be difficult to deal with now that the Keybladers are with him." A menacing voice echoed from within the room as out from the shadows stepped Xehanort's Apprentice.

"Yes, I know; however, the brat has escaped—I needed Dastan to go through with my plans smoothly." Nizam angrily grit his teeth as he threw a chair to the side.

"I see. Have you ever considered just—following through with your plans anyway?" The Dark Soldier inquired as he crossed his arms in curiosity.

"You mean I should actually—" Nizam's eyes widened in shock and amusement.

"Yes—with Dastan and the Keybladers gone, and with your control of Persia's military: there would be nothing stopping you. So why not?" The Apprentice shrugged his shoulders.

"I see—very well then. By this time tomorrow, I shall be Emperor of Persia." Nizam smirked as he ran his hand over his chin in satisfaction.

"Glad to hear it—now if you excuse me, my master has summoned me." The Dark Soldier laughed as he opened a dark portal and proceeded to leave.

"But—you promised you'd give me aid." Nizam scoffed as he watched the dark warrior leave, only to realize a split second later that there was a pointed object to his back. In horrified shock, Nizam turned around to see the Apprentice standing right behind him with is Keyblade drawn and ready to run him through. The old man looked back to where the Dark Warrior once stood only to find nothing.

"Don't worry I shall return—however, I would strongly caution you to remain silent and do as your told though. It's not good for one's health to question his superiors…" The Dark Soldier dismissed his Keyblade and gave an assuring pat on the shaken vizier's shoulder and he once again made his way towards the dark portal, only this time he left unhindered.

"Ugh—I'm getting far too old with this. I'd better get things underway so that everything is ready when he returns." Nizam clutched his heart as he adjusted his robes and sat down at his desk. "Now—to frame a certain wayward prince…" Nizam laughed as he began to write on some parchments.

_Desert, Safe House_

True to Dastan's word, the safe house was soon in view. Everyone rushed to reach the cool shelter and provisions within. Once inside, everyone immediately sat down to catch their breath.

"See? We made it. Now we can collect ourselves and plan our next course of action." Dastan laughed as he slumped to the ground. The building was not all that big, having only a few rooms and a make-shift kitchen, but it had more than enough to provide for the group for a long time if need be.

"I agree, but let's focus on resting for now. We're not all accustomed to the desert yet." Terra wiped his brow as he leaned up against the wall.

"Fair enough—from what I can tell, our plans shouldn't need to change too much, we just lack the element of surprise now." Dastan thoughtfully nodded in response. "Alright, we'll rest until morning; then we'll rethink our plan of attack." The Persian Prince concluded as he walked into another room of the safe house. He returned with blankets and canisters of water for everyone and then handed them out. "Drink up and rest up—we've got a long day ahead of us." And with that, the group separated into different parts of the house, Sora making sure to stay within eyesight of Kairi, and proceeded to get some well deserved sleep.

A/N: Phew, that was a nice update, kept me busy. Anyway, why was the Apprentice recalled by Master Xehanort? What will the heroes think of next as the plan again? Will everything go as foreseen? Find out on the next post. Oh, and please remember to review before you go :D.

~KBMP


	26. Chapter 24: Smoke and Shadows

A/N: Well, here's another chapter for you all. It's a tad filler-ish, but it's good all the same. Anyway, please do enjoy and be sure to leave a review before you go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any affiliates with the franchise.

Chapter 24: Smoke and Shadows

_Realm of Darkness:_

The Apprentice had felt his Master call, and immediately left after--issuing a warning to the elderly vizier, Nizam. The Dark Soldier walked a little further down the dark corridor until finally he reached an opening, where Master Xehanort was waiting for him in his shadowy essence.

"Welcome back—are things going according to plan in Persia?" The Shadow Master questioned, his red eyes revealed that he was genuinely intrigued.

"Of course, soon that oaf will give in to his jealousy and that world will crumble." The Apprentice bowed as he replied.

"Very good, now let us discuss something else. Do you realize **why** I stopped you from slaying Sora?" Master Xehanort inquired; his raspy voice bore impatience behind it.

"No, my Master—I see no immediate reason. Perhaps you would enlighten me?" The soldier of darkness responded.

"Hm—I know your memories have faded since your reassembling, but surely you remember your ultimate goal." The Dark Keyblade Master scoffed as his shadowy figure crossed his arms.

"Of course—to summon the X-blade: the ultimate Keyblade to control Kingdom Hearts and rule the worlds." The Dark Soldier answered, raising his head in certainty.

"Excellent—and under what name are you to accomplish this goal? Surely you remember your name by now." The Shadow Keyblader prodded.

"…Vanitas…" The Apprentice answered resolutely.

"Very good—your purpose and name should be enough explanation for you as to why Sora must be spared."

"I see—that's why." Vanitas muttered.

"Yes—that is all. Return to Persia and finish your task for that world." Xehanort commanded, waving his hand in a dismissing fashion.

"Very good, Master." With a turn on his heel, Vanitas began to walk down the corridor from which he entered.

"Oh, and Vanitas, I would strongly encourage that you **not** reveal your identity to Sora. It may cause an—adverse reaction, and that would be unwanted." The Keyblade Master interrupted before his Shadow Warrior had left.

"As you wish, Master." Vanitas curtly replied as he took his leave. "Heh, so **that's** where you've been hiding this whole time, Ventus. No wonder I had a feeling of déjà-vu when I fought Sora, in more ways than one even." The Dark Warrior laughed as he stepped through a dark portal.

Back in the opening, the shadowy figure of Xehanort stood still, as if he were contemplating something. All of a sudden, he broke silence, "Of all the places to find you, **never **in my wildest dreams did I expect to stumble upon you here. Now, are you going to come out of hiding willingly, or am I going to have to draw you out, my dear friend?"

"I never thought I'd ever see **you **again eiher, you monster." A light voice echoed in the cavern.

Xehanort laughed as he turned his head just a little to his left to face the direction of the voice. His glowing red eyes glowed with satisfaction as he saw his target when it stepped out from behind the rocks. "I feel it's been ages since I was last 'graced' by your beauty, my dear." Master Xehanort scoffed as his hand began to charge with dark lightning.

_Desert, Safe house:_

Dawn came quickly, and the tired warriors stirred and slowly woke up. Everyone got prepared for the day and ate breakfast before they began their planning session. As Dastan was about to drink from his water canister, he was interrupted by the sound of wings flapping. He looked up and saw a messenger hawk descending upon the house.

"Oh, and what do we have here?" Dastan questioned as he held out his arm for the bird to perch. There was a small scroll tied to the hawk's neck with Dastan's name on it, so the Persian prince pulled the scroll loose and unrolled it. Dastan mouth became taught as he read the letter, and a lone tear raced down his face. "That monster—I don't believe it."

"What's wrong Dastan?" Sora questioned, his voice showed his concern for his friend.

"My father is dead—and the council of elders had decided to name Nizam emperor in his stead." Dastan clenched his fist in anger.

"You think that Nizam actually—killed yer father?" Goofy questioned, biting his hand in fear.

"There's no other explanation. My father was in good health when I left. Nizam must have killed him, and now that monster has the throne." Dastan placed his face in his folded arms in sorrow. The rest of the group just looked at each other with pained expressions on their face. They had no idea what to say—this was a terrible situation.

"Who sent the letter? Are they reliable?" Terra questioned as he took the letter and began to read it.

"_My prince,_

_It is with great remorse that I report the death of your father. He was assassinated in his sleep, and Nizam has seen to punishing 'those responsible'. We both know that Nizam is behind this and he is only out for the crown. I will fill you in with more details as I can. If you strike, be swift, be sure._

_To your safety,_

_Sheik Amar"_

"Amar—is my mentor, and a very dear friend. He would not lie about such things." Dastan muttered as he lifted his head.

"I see—it's nice to know that we have an ally in the city. Do we have any other allies?" Terra questioned.

"Yes, a foreign princess named Tamina. Her and her father never really approved of Nizam being my father's vizier. It seems that their mistrust was legitimized." Dastan nodded his head as he explained the situation.

"I see—and we still have the Dagger of Time, right?" Sora rubbed his chin in thought.

"Yes, it is hidden safely in his very house. We will use it to our advantage when we go and remove the wrongdoers from the palace." Dastan resolutely clenched his fist.

"Alright then, how do you purpose we do this?" Riku grinned, seeing that his new friend had found resolve in spite of his pain—Dastan would make a great ruler of this world when this was all over with.

"I thought you'd never ask." Dastan smirked as he began to expound upon his new plans.

_Palace Complex, Persepolis:_

In the throne room sat the newly crowned Nizam on his magnificent chair of power. He seemed rather pleased with himself as he surveyed his new abode. Disturbing his "sanctuary" was the abrupt sound of clapping.

"Well done—it appears do you have some **guts** after all, your highness." A sinister voice echoed in the marbled walls. Out from behind a pillar came Vanitas, who leaned his back against said pillar and crossed his arms, "So, does it feel good to have that power?" The Dark Warrior questioned.

"Yes—yes it does." Nizam laughed.

"Good—now what if I could guarantee you even **more** power?" Vanitas nonchalantly tilted his domed face towards the new emperor.

"You mean to tell me you know where **that** is?" Nizam was shocked at what the dark warrior was insinuating.

"Yes, I know where the Dagger of Time is—and I can even get it for you." The Apprentice stood up straight and faced Nizam.

A/N: Uh-oh, Xehanort's gotten a hold of somebody in the Realm of Darkness, and Vanitas is about to "personally" retrieve the Dagger of Time now that the old Emperor is dead. What will happen? Find out by reading the next chapter. Please be sure to review.


	27. Chapter 25: Rude Awakening

A/N: Well, here's another chapter. I had some fun writing this one :D. Anyway, happy Memorial Day and be sure to thank any US veteran you see for their service to the great country of the United States. Please be sure to leave a review before you go, as well (naturally).

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything related to the franchise, games, etc. Anyway, moving right along...

Chapter 25: Rude Awakening

The night went relatively quiet, except for the occasional nervous rustle from various members of the group that resided The early morning crept in and Sora grudgingly woke up, and judging from the twilit skies, it must have been about six in the morning.

"Man—I can never seem to get any sleep lately." Sora grumbled as he stretched and began to walk around to loosen his body. The Keyblade Master walked outside and sat down on the stone porch area and looked at the sky. "This sky is so beautiful…" Sora gasped in wonder as he admired the sunrise as it was beginning to break the horizon.

"Are you always a morning person?" Dastan laughed as he walked outside the doorframe of the safe house.

"Heh, not normally—guess I'm just restless. I've had a lot of my mind lately." Sora gave a half-hearted smile as he faced his new friend.

"Yeah—sleeps hard to come by when your heart is restless." Dastan gave an understanding pat on the back to Sora as he sat next to the young hero.

"So—how are you feeling?" Sora questioned, knowing full well that the Persian Prince's heart must be very heavy because of recent events.

"I'll be better once we've dealt with Nizam." Dastan grumbled as he clenched his fist.

"Don't worry, we'll get him. Justice will be served—count on it." Sora smiled as he assured his friend. A second later, Sora's glance jolted towards the horizon.

"Thanks—hey, you alright, Sora?" Dastan nervously questioned as he noticed Sora's visage change abruptly.

"Something's coming—get back inside and wake everyone up now!" Sora sternly commanded as he summoned his Keyblade. Dastan gave an understanding nod as he ran back inside. "_This feeling—oh great. It's the Apprentice._" Sora grumbled as he tightened his grip on his weapon. All of a sudden, a familiar deathly chill began to overwhelm Sora's senses. A pool of shadows began to develop just a few feet in front of Sora, who only glared into the darkness in anticipation of what was coming. Out of the darkness came an all too familiar form of the Dark Warrior appeared.

"Long time no see, Sora." The Shadow Warrior laughed as he crossed his arms in apparent arrogance.

"How did you find us?" Sora angrily questioned as he prepared for battle.

"Heh, I guess you can say I have abilities that match, and even surpass your own." The Apprentice chuckled as he summoned his Keyblade to accept Sora's unspoken challenge. "Oh, and you can call me Vanitas." The dark warrior added as he assumed his fighting stance.

"Why don't you quit hiding behind that mask?" Sora grumbled as he too assumed his fighting pose.

"Heh, tell you what, I'll make a deal with you. If you beat me, I'll show you my face." Vanitas laughed.

"…and if I lose?" Sora raised an eyebrow.

"I get to take the Dagger of Time." Vanitas finished his body language showing that he was resolute in his quest.

"Well, you're not going to defeat me again, I guarantee that!" Sora exclaimed as he stared down his opponent.

"Hehe, we shall see." Vanitas laughed as he steadied his Keyblade just above his shoulder. Both warriors stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity before Sora finally made his move. Sora used Strike Raid as he threw his Keyblade like a boomerang at his opponent. "Still learning, eh?" Vanitas chuckled as he raised his Keyblade to block the attack. The Dark Warrior failed to realize that Sora used his Quick Dodge to get to Vanitas' right flank. The next thing the Apprentice knew, Sora's Keyblade disappeared and then he felt a sharp, stinging sensation on his sword arm; Sora had managed to get a successful strike on him. "Arg—you've improved a little." Vanitas hissed as he jumped away from Sora, the wound on his arm slowly healing. "Very smart: starting off with speed to try and catch me off balanced. I'm afraid—you're not **quite** fast enough, however." Vanitas laughed as he jumped into the air, his body became silhouetted in shadow, and then all of a sudden thin stream of shadows shot out from his body towards Sora.

"What the—" Sora grunted as he rolled out of the way of the initial strikes, only to be lashed back towards the ground by more incoming streams of darkness. "Oah…okay, better avoid those things." The brunette Keyblader grimaced as he watched Vanitas gently fall back to the ground.

"I see you've toughened up a little. That's good—I want our fight to last a little longer, since I want to see how much your strength has improved." Vanitas reset his fighting stance as he stood ready to fight again.

"Wh-why are you interested if I improve?" Sora gathered himself as he prepared to reengage.

"I guess you can say that you are—important to me. Well, part of you, anyway." Vanitas laughed, which caused Sora to angrily grit his teeth in confusion. "Don't worry; all will be answered in good time—even faster if you can actually manage to defeat me."

"Shut..up!" Sora exclaimed as he lunged at his opponent, trying to plunge his Keyblade into Vanitas' heart. The heroic Keyblader was met by the cold steel of Vanitas' Keyblade.

"Shame—you should have stuck with speed. You'd be right at home with that." Vanitas shook his head in disappointment as he pushed Sora backward so far that his back pushed against the building. A second later, Terra and Riku ran out from the building only to see Sora on the bad end of a blade-deadlock with Vanitas.

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed as he and Terra summoned their Keyblades.

"Ah-ah-ah, this is between Sora and me." Vanitas grumbled as a cloud of darkness began to emanate from his body, half of which floated over to Riku and Terra, while the other half went into the safe house. The clouds wiggled and solidified into strange blue colored creatures with cold, red eyes.

"What are these things?" Riku questioned as he prepared his weapon for battle.

"These are the Unversed—the creatures that I fought ten years ago." Terra grit his teeth in frustration as he too prepared to engage the creatures of darkness.

"Hehe, now that they're occupied—Show me your power!" Vanitas exclaimed as he grabbed Sora by his collar and hoisted him into the air.

"Urg…let go of me!" Sora grunted as he grabbed Vanitas' arm and brought his foot across the Dark Warrior's helmet, causing him to lose his grip on Sora. The Keyblade Master used his moment to kick off the wall behind him and drive his shoulder into Vanitas' sternum, sending the Apprentice flying backwards and stumbling to regain his footing.

"So it seems that you **do** have some fight in you. Come, our fight is not over yet." Vanitas laughed as he dusted himself off and readied his weapon to resume the fight.

A/N: Ooooh, this epic duel between Vanitas and Sora is beginning to pick up. Will Sora manage to defeat the Warrior of Darkness, or will the villain fulfill his mission and retrieve the Dagger of Time? Find out on the chapter when I update. Please be sure to review before you go (more reviews typically means faster updates :D).

Happy Memorial Day to one and all.


	28. Chapter 26: Dark Times

A/N: WOOT! I'm back with another update (I was afraid I wouldn't be able to before college :P). Anyway, this is gonna be kind of a wild chapter, so hang with me and enjoy, lol. Be sure to review before you go, lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own KH or anything related to the franchise or their affiliates. Now to the important part, lol, enjoy:

Chapter 26: Dark Tiimes

Vanitas stumbled backwards after receiving a kick to the chest, "So—it seems you **do** have some fight in you. Come, this fight isn't over yet." The Dark Soldier scoffed as he dusted himself off and readied himself to continue the battle.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Sora grunted as he lunged at Vanitas with an overhead slash, which was blocked by his opponent.

"You're becoming more aggressive. Is it because you are—angry?" Vanitas scoffed as he parried one of Sora's strikes then firmly planted his fist into Sora's gut, causing the young Keyblade Master to grunt in pain as he fell to one knee. "Shame, you've improved, but you are not—quite good enough yet." The Dark Soldier shook his head in apparent disappointment.

"I'm—not—angry, and—I'm more than good enough to beat you!" Sora gritted his teeth as he rose from his knees with an uppercut from his Keyblade, prompting Vanitas to somersault backwards in defense. Sora wasted no time in pursuing his opponent as he jumped into the air and used his momentum to catch Vanitas. The Dark Solder dropped his hands down on the ground and reversed his momentum to kick forward and crash his body into Sora's, sending the two warriors plummeting into the sand pit below. When the dust settled, Sora and Vanitas had separated and were laying a few feet from each other. Sora groggily began to move, coughing as though the wind were knocked out of him, with each dust kicking up small puffs of sand. Vanitas lay just in front of him, lying motionless for a few seconds, then, in a draconian manner slowly sat up and turned his head to face Sora.

Meanwhile, with Riku and Terra things were looking desperate. It appeared that for every one Unversed they felled, another stood up in their place.

"Man—there's no end to them." Riku angrily grunted as he fended off a horde of Unversed.

"Yeah, it's almost as though Vanitas has intentions of fighting Sora alone." Terra barked as he cleared off a few Unversed of his own.

Vanitas expectantly watched Sora as the young Keyblader struggled to stand up. "Hm…it appears that you're tougher than when we last met. I wonder how far I can push your limits." A split second later, the dark soldier threw his Keyblade above his head, then jumped up to catch it, and with his momentum slammed his weapon into the sand below. Immediately afterward, the sand began to shift violently, and out from the ground burst tentacle-like entities that appeared to be made of shadows. The tentacles then lashed out and grabbed everyone but Sora and Vanitas. "So, now you have a choice: fight me, or save your friends." Vanitas laughed as he snapped his fingers, which prompted the tentacles to begin squeezing their victims tightly.

Upon hearing his friend's screams of pain, Sora looked in horror, and immediately froze in his tracks when he saw that Kairi had gotten caught in the snare as well.

"Oh, have I struck a nerve?' Vanitas, having noticed Sora's reaction, laughed as he began to walk towards Sora.

"Let them go…" Sora grunted, slowly climbing to his feet. Vanitas continued his approached, but as he did, he noticed something was different about his opponent. Sora's body was emitting a small amount of dark energy, nearly unnoticeable, but barely traceable to a select few in the area—namely Vanitas and Riku.

"I smell something, something very dark." Riku muttered as he was struggling to free himself from the trap.

"Urgh…yeah, it's Vanitas." Terra angrily groaned as he two flailed around to free himself.

"No, it's a different presence—one that's a more concentrated darkness." Riku calmly spoke as he focused, trying to hone in on the source. A few seconds later, his eyes flashed open in shock and horror. "It's Sora!"

"What?" Terra's face mirrored that of his friends as he heard the name, and immediately he looked towards the young Keyblade Master, who was now trembling, visibly doing everything he could to keep his rage from boiling over.

"Wha-oh—not good!" Goofy stuttered as he too saw what was happening to Sora.

"Care to explain what's going on?" Dastan grumbled in pain.

"Uh…Sora's about to—transform." Donald nervously replied.

"You mean like his Drive Forms? That should be good, right?" Kairi hopefully questioned, trying to see any bright spot in the situation.

"Uh…I don't think so. He seems to turning into Anti-Form…which is a bad thing. But this is strange 'cause normally he hasta actually transform first." Donald shook his head in disbelief.

"What do you mean by that?" Riku barked his question in frustration.

"Well, normally Sora becomes Anti-Form after too many of his Drive-thingies have been performed—but he hasn't transformed fer a while now. It's almost like it's comin' out in its own…" Goofy nervously explained as he watched the events unfold before him and the rest of the group.

"That's bad—isn't it?" Riku questioned.

"Yeah—he becomes amazin'ly strong, but at the cost of control." Donald painfully sighed as he watched.

"Rrrragh!" Sora held his head as he screamed in pain. A second later, he was enveloped in a cloud of shadows.

"Hm…what have we here? This is certainly an interesting turn of events." Vanitas chuckled as he watched Sora's transformation. The Shadow Warrior then readied his Keyblade in preparation for battle. After a few moments, the shadowy cloud around Sora dissipated, revealing a creature that looked identical to Sora, only his body appeared to be as black as the night, his clothes tattered and of matching color, but the most intimidating feature about him was his piercing, cold, yellow eyes.

"A-yup! That's Anti-Sora alright!" Goofy gulped as he confirmed everyone's fears.

"_Shhhhhkkk"_ Anti-Sora hissed as he lifelessly stared down Vanitas.

"I can see you're angry **now**. Come on and face me then, and we get a look at whose darkness is greater!" Vanitas scoffed as he took a defensive posture, prompting Anti-Sora to lung aggressively at him.

A/N: WHAT? I dared to envoke Anti-Sora? You bet I did! What kind of mayhem and destruction will ensue in Vanitas vs. Anti-Sora? Find out in the next chapter :D. Oh, and be sure to review, lol.


	29. Chapter 27: Vanity of Vanities

A/N: Hey, all. I am so very sorry about the extreme delay in updating...been wicked busy. Anyway, I do hope that you all enjoy this chapter, I had a ton of fun writing this one, lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own KH or anything related to it, and so on and so forth...:

Chapter 27: Vanity of Vanites

"C'mon and fight me then, and we will see whose darkness is greater!" Vanitas mocked as he prepared himself. Anti-Sora responded by aggressively lunging towards the Dark Soldier who back-flipped out of the way and pivoted on his back foot to execute a roundhouse kick to the creature of Shadow. Anti-Sora grabbed his opponent's foot and used his momentum to swing around, pulling Vanitas with him, and the end result was the villain being slammed into a nearby rock formation with Anti-Sora gently hovering his way back down onto the sand.

"_Sora…what's happened to you?_" Kairi thought to herself as she watched the shadowy figure coldly stare at where his opponent lay.

Meanwhile, Sora's friends were still struggling not to be crushed by their snare. "He-he's fierce…almost animalistic…" Terra grunted as he tried to wriggle free, but to no avail.

"No kidding, he never fights like that…things could get out of hand in a hurry if we don't get out of this." Riku winced as he began to slowly loosen his hand from the tentacles that entrapped him—it came loose! "Finally!" Riku exclaimed as he cast a Dark Firaga at the base of the tentacles he was trapped in, causing them to loosen their grip just long enough for him to summon Way to the Dawn and slice his way through. The silver-haired teen then proceeded to cut the rest of his friends free. Their joy of freedom was short lived, however, as more Unversed proceeded to encompass them.

"Splendid, out of the pan and into the fire, as it were." Dastan grumbled as he and the others steadied their weapons.

"We gotta cut ow way through 'em! We haf'ta get Sora away from Vanitas—it's the only way to calm 'im down!" Donald exclaimed as he cast an arc of Firaga to start clearing a path towards the dueling warriors.

"Agreed—let's go!" Kairi shouted as she was about to follow behind Donald into the crowd of Unversed, only to be held back by Riku. "Riku, let me go! I have to see him…I have to help, somehow." She began to tear up in frustration and pain as she looked into the steely blue eyes of her friend, whose only response was to lower himself to where their faces were level with each other, while the others were fighting of the Unversed.

"I know…I think right now you are one of the few who **could** help him, which is why I need you to stay back here with Goofy, Terra, and the Prince. If Vanitas got a hold of you—Sora might be lost to the darkness forever. Don't worry, Donald and I can take care of things." Riku assured with a smile as he patted her on the shoulder, stood up, and ran after Donald. Kairi's only response was to longingly stare in the direction of Sora, but her senses returned to her and she ran back to the safety of her other friends. Meanwhile, Anti-Sora and Vanitas' fight was now picking up in intensity, both warriors resorting to more aggressive tactics to try and best the other.

"Heh, try this on for size!" Vanitas grumbled as he jumped into the air and sent a barrage of Dark Thundaga raining down upon Anti-Sora, who tried to jump out of the way, but was struck by one of the bolts on his back, causing him to buckle to one knee in pain. "Now!" Vanitas readied his Keyblade for the descent as he saw his chance to possibly end the fight. Just as he was about to strike, Anti-Sora looked up and tilted his head as if in puzzlement and just before Vanitas' stroke fell, disappeared in a blur of shadows. "What?" The Dark Soldier voiced his confusion as he found his Keyblade only striking the sand below him. "Hm…so you want to play that game. You'll find I can play it too." Vanitas laughed as he disappeared in a similar fashion. The next few moments were filled with the sound of claw on steel as evidence of their clash could be seen as boulders and nearby rock faces shattered under the weight and speed of their blows. Finally, there was a large booming noise that sent out a powerful shockwave; the aftermath was the two warriors violently crashing into the sand below. After a few moments, Vanitas began to stir, "Rrrrgg…alright, I'll admit: that one hurt." The Dark Solder began to survey his surroundings to find his opponent, all he found was the body print of where Anti-Sora used to be. "Now where'd you—" Vanitas mumbled, only to be interrupted by his target appearing right behind him and delivering a slash to the Shadow Warrior's back. Anti-Sora then followed through with a kick to Vanitas' sword shoulder, dislocating it and causing him to scream in pain. It was at this moment that Riku and Donald finally fought their way through the Unversed, only to see Vanitas drop his Keyblade and fall to one knee in anguish as he held his disabled member in pain.

"Did Sora just beat Vanitas?" Donald questioned in shock as he realized what he saw.

"I think so—but like you said, we'd better get Sora away from him." Riku nodded as he and Donald rushed towards the two combatants.

Terra, Goofy, and Dastan were back near the safe house protecting Kairi as the Unversed were finally beginning to dwindle. "I wish I could be more of a help…" Kairi softly spoke as she tried to stay out of the warrior's way as they fought. Terra managed to hear her wish though.

"It's—it's like Riku said. You can help by staying safe." Terra reminded as he fended off some of the remaining Unversed.

"Yeah but—" Kairi began to protest.

"Tell you what: there's almost no threat here so—we happened to make our way towards where Sora is, you would **technically** still be safe." Terra gave an understanding look towards Kairi after he and the others finished off the remaining Unversed.

"I suppose you're right." Kairi smiled in appreciation.

"Then it's settled. C'mon guys, let's go!" Terra nodded as he lead the way to where Sora's battle was taking place.

A/N: Wow, Vanitas has actually fallen? What about it Anti-Sora? Hopefully everything will be safe and sound...we will se. Be sure to check in for the next update to find out :D. Oh, and be sure to review, please?


	30. Chapter 28: Role Changer

A/N: Well, this will be the last chapter I post till about May-ish (be returning to college Wednesday so...yeah...). Anyway, special thanks to Kittygirl1998 for being such an avid fan and reviewing so frequently, it is extremely appreciated. For your patience, you get a jumbo invisi-cookie, lol. Anyways, thanks again to her and all my fans :D. Ah, and before I forget, please remember to enjoy the read and don't be afraid to drop a review :P Now...on to the disclaimer:

Disclaimer: I do not own KH or anything affiliated with it, but if did...what? I can dream, can't I? lol.

Chapter 28: Role Changer

Vanitas fell into his knee as he felt the excruciating pain of his sword shoulder being dislocated by the powerful kick delivered by Anti-Sora. All the Dark Warrior could do was let out a curt scream of discomfort as he dropped his Keyblade and held his damaged shoulder with his left hand as he tried to regain himself. Anti-Sora stood still, his yellow eyes locked on to his adversary.

"Ughn…man…I let my guard down. Suppose this is…ack…what I get." Vanitas let out a pained chuckle as he stood back up, left arm still steadying his hurting member. He then turned himself around to face Anti-Sora, who was standing still, as if contemplating what to do next. "Heh—guess you're not done with me, huh?" Vanitas shook his head in disbelief as he felt the animosity from Anti-Sora. Then, he saw two figures in his peripheral off to the side. "Oh? Looks like we have some company." Vanitas sighed in frustration as he then turned his attention slightly to his left and saw Terra and Donald running towards the sight of the battle, frantically screaming their friend's name. Anti-Sora's only response was remaining motionless while still glaring at Vanitas.

"Sora, are you okay?" Donald questioned as he ran up to Anti-Sora, being careful not to get too close, given his friend was obviously still in a most unpleasant predicament. Terra, after inspecting his friend from a safe distance himself, turned his attention towards the true problem at the moment.

"I suggest you leave, before I put you out of your misery." Terra angrily commanded as he summoned his Keyblade and faced Vanitas.

"Ha! 'Misery'? As if—I'm nowhere even close to defeated, this was more of a—test if you will. Ack…" Vanitas chuckled as he used his left hand to put his bad shoulder back into place, giving off a sickening and loud popping noise as he did. Afterwards, he began to rotate his shoulder to work out any lingering soreness which also gave off a similar noise, only the noise persisted as he worked out his shoulder. "Ah, much better. Now, where were we?" The Dark Soldier satisfyingly mused as he stretched out his newly refreshed and strengthened arm and summoned his Keyblade. Afterwards he began to slowly stride towards Terra. "It seems that your friend here has tons of darkness waiting inside of him just waiting to be unleashed—the state you see in him right now is just the tip of the iceberg. It's very interesting, if I do say so myself. I guess the old adage is true: the brighter the light, the darker the shadow." Vanitas tilted his head in curiosity as he stopped in his tracks half way in between where he was before and Terra.

"Stay back! Don't get anywhere near Sora!" Terra barked as he readied for a fight.

"Heh, as if you could stop me…but…I don't think I **don't** have to get any closer. Sora's just as eager as I am to continue." Vanitas laughed as he readied himself to fight. The very next moment, Anti-Sora's stillness was broken when his body violently shook, followed by an aggressive lunge towards Vanitas.

"Sora, don't!" Donald exclaimed as he tried to stop his friend, but to no avail.

"Stop, please! You're only digging deeper…" Terra pleaded as he clenched his Keyblade's handle even tighter.

"Heh, you think he's bad now…" Vanitas sneered as he dodged a tackle from Anti-Sora. "Just wait until I **really** stir things up!"

"What d' ya' mean!" Donald angrily yelled, his frustration from not being able to fight because of the obvious power gap was apparent.

"Well, let's just say that when things are very dark: it's very hard to tell friends…" The Shadow Soldier grunted as he gathered a basketball-sized amount of dark energy in his hand as he dodged another clawed slash from Anti-Sora, and when the shadow-consumed Keyblade hero tried to rebound the miss, Vanitas gathered the energy into his fist and delivered a punch across the face of his opponent, causing Anti-Sora to real back in pain. "…from your enemies."

"What just happened? What did you do?" Terra questioned as he charged at Vanitas with the intent to strike him down.

"Well, you're about to find out. I've spent enough time on this sand-ridden excuse for a world. I've got better things to do than clean up my own mess, have fun." Vanitas laughed as he disappeared into a dark portal just as Terra's stroke fell.

"No! He got away again!" Terra grumbled as he straightened himself up and looked at Anti-Sora, who was just now beginning to steady himself after the punch he received. "Sora, he's gone…you can come back to us now…" Terra sighed as he walked up to his friend. As he approached, he noticed something was very wrong with Anti-Sora. The consumed Keyblader started to shake his head as if in pain, all the while going back and forth between rubbing his eyes and holding his ears as if they were the cause of the pain. "Sora, what's wrong?" Terra questioned as he reached out his hand to try and comfort his friend.

"Terra, get back! A spell's been cast on 'im!" Donald exclaimed as he cast a Barrier around Terra just in time to protect him from a sudden attack from Anti-Sora. The older Keyblade Warrior jumped well away and backed up towards Donald.

"What's going on? What do you mean a spell's been cast on him?" Terra questioned as he took a defensive posture while he watched Anti-Sora thrash around seemingly aimlessly.

"He's showin' signs of bein' hit with powaful Confuse and Blackout spells…very powaful one's at that…" Donald grumbled as he too took a defensive position.

"But shouldn't he have turned back to normal with Vanitas gone, even with the spells?"

"He should've but wit' 'is senses messed up like dat—he likely still thinks dat Vanitas is still 'ere. He won't turn back if he still feels threatened…and with 'im being confused and all—**we're** the threat…at least 'till da spells ware off…" Donald sighed as he looked at his beleaguered friend.

"What do we do until then?" Terra raised an eyebrow as he looked at the duck-wizard with curiosity.

"I...dunno..." Donald shook his head in frustration.

A/N: Oh dear...this is definately not a good thing. (Anti)Sora's been thrown into trouble at the hands of Vanitas and Donald and Terra are left to "clean up the mess". Will they be able to save their friend before this becomes an even greater mess? Find out next time, lol.


End file.
